This from kokomotribune.com:
PERU, IN – Peru Utilities is set to install a new phosphate injection system at its water treatment facility to keep lead from seeping into the city’s water after elevated levels of the metal were found last year. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management on Tuesday approved the city’s request to install the system. Public water systems commonly add phosphates to the drinking water as a corrosion inhibitor to prevent the leaching of lead and copper from pipes and fixtures, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Jamin Biesiegel, superintendent of Peru Utilities’ Water Management Division, said the city-owned utility moved to install the phosphate system after four homes with lead plumbing components were found to contain elevated levels of lead in the drinking water last year. He said they also had issues with elevated lead levels in some homes in 2014. The new phosphate system will cost under $50,000 and should be installed by the end of the year, Beisiegel said. According to the EPA, adding the substance will allow a protective coating of insoluble mineral scale to from on the inside of service lines and household plumbing. That coating serves as a liner that keeps corrosion elements in water from dissolving some of the metal in the drinking water. As a result, lead and copper levels in the water will remain low. Beisiegel said the utility is also going to implement more testing to ensure lead levels stay below levels deemed safe by the state. The move comes after the utility increased water rates by 58-percent in 2017 to pay for up to $9 million in major infrastructure upgrades. Beisiegel said some of the upgrades completed last year included replacing around 100 service lines to residences around the city. The city plans to spend the money on 28 different projects. Some of the biggest projects include replacing the 16-inch water main running beneath Peru High School, which was installed in the 1920s, and replacing two other major water lines that run beneath the Wabash River, said former Peru Utilities General Manager Joe Pandy in 2017.