Troy, New York, is grappling with a severe water crisis as high concentrations of lead in the water running through the city’s aging pipes surpass those recorded at the height of the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The latest water quality report produced by the city shows lead in Troy’s water exceeds 35.4 parts per billion (ppb) at the 90th percentile of testing, surpassing the 25 ppb found in Flint about a decade ago. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prompts water utility owners to take action to reduce the levels at 15 ppb, and Troy’s water has been testing at or above that threshold consistently since at least the start of last decade, EPA documents show.
No amount of lead is considered safe, and the effects of lead poisoning pose serious developmental health issues for children, international health authorities say.
Until last year, the city had largely failed to heed recommendations from federal regulators to replace its lead pipes and fix what the EPA deemed to be an inadequate water treatment process to help address lead levels in drinking water.
The city is now attempting to replace its lead service lines and ensure lead stops leaching into the drinking water, though it was given $500,000 of federal funding to do so urgently back in 2018. Last month, the city also changed the way it handles corrosion control, a process that can help reduce the levels of lead in water. But some obstacles to addressing potential lead poisoning remain, such as funding concerns, uncertainty around municipal government powers, and an incomplete inventory of the lead service lines.
Lead service lines are divided into two categories: a public side, owned by the city, that connects from the water main to a sidewalk near a property, and the private side, which connects the rest of the way to the property. EPA regulations require water utilities to fix both sides of the line.
There are also important deadlines looming, such as new EPA guidelines expected in October that would ask municipalities that exceed a certain threshold of lead in their water to replace their lead service lines within a decade. That threshold would be lowered to 10 ppb from 15, and current testing numbers indicate Troy would be well above that.
Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello has also told local media she plans to replace the entire lead service lines inventory by the end of her first term in 2028.
Public health advocates and local officials say this is achievable and that Troy is in good shape to request funding from the federal government to kick things into gear, but they noted that the work needs to begin soon — before the crisis worsens.
“Do I think we can do it in three and a half years? Not the way we’re doing it right now,” said Aaron Vera, who represents the fourth district on Troy’s City Council. “But if we can get the rate of replacements up to a level of a few dozen a week, then yeah … That needs to be the focus right now, getting contractors on board, out in the field, and replacing these lines.”
The situation in Troy, a city of slightly more than 50,000 people, located less than 10 miles away from New York’s center of legislative and administrative power in Albany, was the subject of a Prism article last year, detailing the prevalence of lead poisoning as a crisis in the state and how families are affected by it.
Mantello and City Council President Sue Steele did not respond to Prism’s requests for comment.
The Plan and Its Failures
The city’s water department and contractor crews started replacing lead service lines last summer, working along other streetside projects, such as repavement, that require roads to be dug out. So far, about 290 of the identified 1,354 lead service lines have been replaced. A map of the city’s lead service lines shows the water department still doesn’t know if it must replace pipes in large swaths of the city. The city is largely relying on residents to self-disclose if they have a lead service line.
Mantello has said she wants to replace 400 lines by the end of the year.
Policy analysts with Timber Corp., a local nonprofit at the forefront of demanding transparency and transformative action from city government in Troy, say the city would likely have to double or triple that figure in the next three years to fully replace all the lead service lines.
But the obstacles to setting things in motion are still being worked out. For instance, the city is sitting on almost $13 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), awarded by the federal government earlier this year to replace lead service lines.
Advocates and dignitaries representing Troy in the state legislature representatives say the city has been engaged in months-long arguments with state officials and members of the public about how to use the money.
The arguments, they note, stem from whether the city can use the money to replace infrastructure on private property, and the possibility of a legal challenge attached to that concern, as well as lacking an understanding on how to access the funds.
Mantello and general counsel Dana Salazar contend they cannot use the funds on private property, according to reporting from WAMC Northeast Public Radio. They have noted they will likely need to issue a municipal bond to receive the money from the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), which acts as a passthrough for the BIL funds.
John McDonald, a Democrat who represents Troy in the state assembly, said the city would not need a municipal bond for the funds to be disbursed, and that the city should be ready to work on private property.
“I’ve met with many families, parents, particularly, who are anxious to see this happen,” McDonald said. “Public funds can be used for replacement of private services … when there’s a known potential health concern. The state comptroller’s finance counsel told me [they] believe that this is an appropriate use.”
Vera noted that he has spoken with state officials who have confirmed that the city could see a reimbursement for costs associated with the project from EFC within seven days.
Mantello and Salazar have said they also fear a legal challenge from a property owner under the grounds of private property, according to the WAMC report.
Greg Campbell-Cohen, a public health and functional government advocate, said the city should expect some opposition to decisions made and that theoretical threats should not redirect city officials away from the welfare of their constituents.
“I think it is far riskier to poison dozens, if not hundreds, of children every year,” said Campbell-Cohen, one of Timber Corp.’s directors. “That has a worse effect on the city than having to go to court and ultimately not being able to bond if that were to happen, which we’ve seen no indication of.”
Some other obstacles of ridding the city of its lead problem are deeply rooted in years-long inaction and neglect, some spanning several council lineups and mayoral administrations. For instance, the EPA first ordered the city to overhaul its corrosion control treatment of the city’s water about a decade ago and then several times since. Corrosion control typically entails the use of orthophosphate to reduce the levels of lead in water. The city’s water department did not follow that directive until this August, according to a News10 report.
“I do not understand why the city didn’t move faster to address that issue,” said Vera, who was elected in 2023. “I’m glad to see that we’re moving on it now.”
Prism is an independent and nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color. We report from the ground up and at the intersections of injustice.