BEAUMONT, Texas — Every year the City of Beaumont submits samples to have its water system tested and they can always use your help to collect enough samples from all over the city to make it work.
Usually the city collects one batch of at least 50 samples annually but, because of a change made last year in how the city's water is treated, they're now required to test 100 samples within a six month period twice yearly. The samples are sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for testing, according to Beaumont's City Engineer, Molly Villarreal. One of the main things being tested for is lead and copper in drinking water.
For the first batch of samples, collected between the end of July 2023 and the end of December 2023, they sent out requests to 250 water customers to collect a sample, according to Villarreal. But, by the time the deadline rolled around only 98 samples had been received by the city, she said.
The 98 samples were sent in and no issues with high amounts of lead were found but, because the city was two samples short, they were in violation of their monitoring requirements. The two missing samples did show up and were sent for testing, she said. The last two samples also showed no issues.
In order to avoid another violation, the city reached out for more potential samples this time, beginning with city employees that reside in the city and then the general public, Villarreal said.
You may have noticed a post last week on the city's Facebook page asking residents to take a survey and potentially provide a water sample from their home.
The deadline for the next samples to be sent off is at the end of the month and the city wanted to be sure they had enough samples this time, Villarreal explained.
By the time 12News spoke to Villarreal Thursday afternoon enough samples had been collected.
However, the city would still like for residents to fill out the survey to identify a larger group of people willing to provide samples in the future.
Collecting the sample isn't hard, but some may find it inconvenient.
Once a resident fills out the survey, which asks basic questions about when their home was built and what type of pipes are in their home, the city determines if they meet the criteria for providing a water sample.
If they meet the criteria, which includes having lead or copper pipes, the city will email them and then leave a test kit at their front door.
Residents must then collect a sample first thing in the morning, after the water has been sitting in their pipes all night. They must draw the sample from an interior faucet closest to where the water supply line enters their house.
They can then simply leave the sample on their front porch and call 3-1-1 to let the city know it's ready to be picked up.
Once the test results come in they will be shared with the resident.
The EPA has set the maximum allowable concentration of lead in public drinking water at 15 parts per billion. The 2022 levels for the Beaumont water system were well below that at 3.5 parts per billion, Villarreal said.
Villarreal also said none of the samples have come back with enough lead levels to cause any alarm.
After completing the bi-annual testing of 100 samples at least twice, the city will be able to petition the TCEQ to return to their previous testing requirements.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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