10/14/2025
MUNCY AREA DRINKING WATER WARNING
Lead Action Level (AL) Exceedance
Sampling shows elevated lead levels in some homes and/or buildings.
ESTE INFORME CONTIENE INFORMACIÓN IMPORTANTE ACERCA DE SU AGUA POTABLE. HAGA QUE ALGUIEN LO TRADUZCA PARA USTED, O HABLE CON ALGUIEN QUE LO ENTIENDA.
The Muncy Borough Municipal Authority found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in some homes/buildings within our distribution system we serve. There is a chance that the
Muncy Borough Municipal Authority may have tested your home or building. If we did, you should receive or may have already received these results. These results are specific to your
home/building and may be different from the results taken in other locations within the distribution system. Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and
young children. Please read this information closely to see what you can do to reduce lead in your drinking water.
What is an Action Level?
The lead action level is a measure of the effectiveness of corrosion control treatment in water systems. The action level is not a standard for establishing a safe level of lead in a home. To
check if corrosion control is working, EPA requires water systems to test for lead at the tap in certain homes, including those with lead service lines. Systems compare sample results from homes to EPA’s action level of 0.015 mg/L (15 ppb). If 10 percent of the samples from these homes have water concentrations that are greater than the action level, then the system must perform actions such as public education, adjusting treatment, and lead service line replacement.
What Happened?
Between June 1, 2025, and September 30, 2025, we collected 10 samples within strategic locations throughout our distribution system and analyzed them for lead concentrations. The
results of this water quality sampling identified that more than 10 percent of our samples exceeded the EPA action level for lead concentration.
The Muncy Borough Municipal Authority was made aware of this exceedance on October 2,2025, and properly notified the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA
DEP). The source of this exceedance level is thought to be from copper service lines running from our main distribution lines to various homes throughout our distribution system where the
copper service lines were fused together utilizing lead solder which could potentially leach into the drinking water and cause these higher concentration levels within the water quality sampling.
While the Muncy Borough Municipal Authority does understand the potential health risks associated with high lead concentrations within drinking water and takes this very seriously it
does want to make note that these samples were conducted by homeowners and testing was done by an outside laboratory so there is always a possibility that sampling error could occur.
The Muncy Borough Municipal Authority is focused on protecting the health of every household in our community; however, lead from service lines and lead plumbing and fixtures can dissolve
or break off into water and end up at the faucet. This does not mean that every property that receives drinking water from the Muncy Borough Municipal Authority has lead in the drinking
water. It does mean that you should understand how to reduce your exposure to lead through water. Keep in mind that drinking water is not the only potential source of lead exposure, since
lead can be found in air, soil, and paint. For more information on all sources of lead, visit https://www.epa.gov/lead
Health Effects of Lead
*Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems.
Below are recommended actions that you may take, separately or in combination, if you are concerned about lead in your drinking water. The list also includes where you may find more
information and is not intended to be a complete list or to imply that all actions equally reduce lead from drinking water.
• Clean your aerator: Regularly remove and clean your faucet’s screen (also known as an aerator). Sediment, debris, and lead particles can collect in your aerator. If lead particles are
caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water.
• Use cold water: Do not use hot water from the tap for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula as lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Boiling water does not remove lead from water.
• Run your water: The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain. Before drinking, flush your home’s pipes by running the tap, taking a shower, doing laundry, or doing a load of dishes. The amount of time to run the water will depend on whether your home has a lead service line or not, as well as the length and diameter of the service line and the amount of plumbing in your home. Residents may also contact us at the information provided above within the letterhead for recommendations about flushing times within our community’s water system.
• Use your filter properly: Using a filter can reduce lead in drinking water. If you use a filter, it should be certified to remove lead. Read any directions provided with the filter to learn how to properly install, maintain, and use it and when to replace it. Using the filter after it has expired can make it less effective at removing lead. Do not run hot water through the filter.
• Learn what your service line material is: Contact us at the phone number or email address provided above in the letterhead or a licensed plumber to determine what the pipe that connects
your home to the water main (called a service line) is made from whether it be lead, galvanized, or other materials. Protect Your Tap: A quick check for lead is EPA’s on-line step by step guide to learn how to find lead pipes in your home.
• Learn about construction in your neighborhood: Contact us at the phone number or email address provided above in the letterhead to find out about any construction or maintenance work that could disturb your service line. Construction may cause more lead to be released from a lead service line if present.
• Have your water tested: Contact us at the phone number or email address provided above in the letterhead to have your water tested and to learn more about the lead levels in your drinking water.
A family doctor or pediatrician can perform a blood test for lead and provide information about the health effects of lead. State, city, or county departments of health can also provide information about how you can have your child's blood tested for lead.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that public health actions be initiated when the level of lead in a child’s blood is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) or more. For more information and links to CDC’s website, please visit https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinkingwater/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water
The Muncy Borough Municipal Authority takes the health, safety, and public welfare of its residents as its upmost important role to serve its residents with the cleanest and safest drinking water that it can produce and distribute to its customers. With that being said the Muncy Borough Municipal Authority will be taking all appropriate measures with the PA DEP to implement and perform a more extensive testing strategy to determine the magnitude of the lead concentrations throughout our distribution system to be able to provide our customers with a clean and reliable source of drinking water.
This drinking water public notice will be placed on our website along with essential educational training regarding lead within drinking water to ensure that all residents within our system are
well informed with how to deal with this concern. We highly recommend that all our customers please check out our community outreach educational training opportunities on this important
topic that has a great impact on each and everyone of our residents daily life and health.
The Muncy Borough Municipal Authority is always taking preventative measures to ensure the cleanest drinking water is provided to its residents and because of this we are always actively
pursuing areas of interest where water quality issues could become a concern as the case with lead exceedance levels. To ensure our water quality compliance and identify areas of interest that could be improved to provide better water quality for our customers we have sent out mailers to identify which homes/buildings in our distribution system have copper and lead within their services lines and would like to encourage everyone in our distribution system to please provide us with as much information as possible that you may have on your property pertaining to this important topic.
For more information, please contact Doug Brown the Muncy Borough Municipal Authority Water Manager at (570) 935-0087 or [email protected] for any questions or concerns
that you may have or if able to provide areas in our distribution system where lead and copper is understood to be located so we can take action to address this known issue.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk from lead in drinking water are available from EPA’s website https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-aboutlead-drinking-water.
*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.*
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