Biden Declares Emergency Over Lead Levels Found in Drinking Water in US Virgin Islands

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference after meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden declared an emergency over unsafe levels of lead found in drinking water in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Nov. 18 after locals were warned not to consume tap water.

In a press release, the White House said President Biden had ordered federal assistance to supplement the territory’s response efforts owing to the “emergency conditions resulting from elevated levels of lead and copper in the water supply beginning on October 25, 2023, and continuing.”

The emergency declaration came after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sampled the U.S. Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority (VIWAPA) drinking water system in multiple locations on the island of St. Croix after locals reported red and brown discoloration in the water.

Testing subsequently revealed lead levels that were more than 100 times higher than the limits set by the EPA, officials said.

Specifically, 108 water samples were collected by health officials at 66 sampling locations, according to the EPA. Of the 108 samples collected, a total of 38 samples taken from 36 locations exceeded EPA’s Lead Action Level of 15 parts per billion (ppb), a level that requires “follow-up actions.”

Several samples also exceeded the copper health-based standard of 1,300 ppb, officials said.

The EPA said it believes the elevated levels of lead and copper in the water likely originate from VIWAPA’s water treatment plant and that the water the authority produces is likely not the source of the elevated levels, although further information is needed.

Health officials are still analyzing the data and probing the cause of the unsafe drinking water.

In the meantime, health experts have warned residents of St. Croix not to consume VIWAPA water from the distribution system under any circumstances, including if the water is piped from the distribution system to a household cistern or piped directly from the distribution system to a household tap.

Residents Turn to Bottled Water

According to the White House, President Biden’s emergency declaration also authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to respond to the contaminated water emergency.

“Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment, and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency,” the administration said.

“Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program, will be provided for water, other necessary related items such as filters and testing, and technical assistance necessary to identify and address immediate threats to public health and safety for 90 days from the start of the incident period,” the White House concluded.

President Biden’s emergency declaration comes after U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan in October issued a “no drinking or consumption” advisory for the potable water system on St. Croix as a “precautionary measure.”

Mr. Bryan said the four locations that had elevated levels following the sampling were Estates Diamond, Castle Burke, Colquhoun, and Mon Bijou.

According to the governor, while further testing is underway to find the root cause of the issue, VIWAPA has implemented a “more rigorous flushing regimen to address the affected areas of the potable water distribution system,” in the meantime.

“This proactive step is intended to rectify the problematic conditions and ensure that the water supply meets the highest safety standards,” the governor said.

Until then, residents should use bottled water for drinking and cooking instead, the governor added. Officials began distributing vouchers for bottled water last month.

Lead Exposure Risks

Lead is toxic and there is no safe level of exposure, with consumption leading to devastating effects on childhood development, behavior, and academic achievement, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Children from low-income households and those who live in housing built before 1978, prior to when lead in paint was banned, are at the greatest risk of lead exposure, according to the CDC.

Despite the Biden administration’s emergency declaration and warnings by health officials, some experts have cautioned the results of water sampling in St. Croix may not paint a fully accurate picture of the situation as they do not meet EPA standards.

Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech lead and water expert who helped identify the lead problems in Flint, Michigan—where thousands of residents were exposed to the city’s lead-contaminated tap water—said the latest data should be “thrown into the garbage.”

He further noted that when it comes to lead testing, workers typically take water from a household faucet. However, the samples that tested so high on St. Croix were collected from the meter, Mr. Edwards said.

“When you [unscrew] it, you are literally ripping the leaded brass apart and a chunk of leaded brass gets in your sample,” he said. Those can produce artificially high results, he noted.

Tom Neltner, a chemical and lead expert at the Environmental Defense Fund, also agreed that testing from the water meter isn’t accurate.

“There’s a lot of oddities” about how St. Croix’s sampling was done, he said.

While it is not yet clear what the source of the lead contamination is, a final report on the issue is expected to be published in mid-December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.