Charlotte official claims lead fittings used recently in water system
CHARLOTTE - City officials will decide next week whether to spend thousands of dollars to investigate claims from a city council member — thus far unsubstantiated — that fittings containing lead were used on recent repairs to the city’s water system.
City Manager Gregg Guetschow said he's "confident" the city's drinking water is safe and that there's no evidence to support claims by councilman Anthony Russo that lead fittings were used at some of the 47 locations in the city where pipes have been installed in the last three years.
Using lead fittings in the water system has been prohibited by state law since January 2014, and the city has an obligation to investigate any claims, Guetschow said.
But that investigation is being hindered, Guetschow added, because Russo refuses to disclose the name of an "informant" who he said told him about it.
Russo refused to discuss his claims with a State Journal reporter Wednesday.
City records show Russo brought a complaint to the state's Department of Environmental Quality in September and that the agency found the claim had no merit. City officials were not aware of the DEQ complaint until the state began investigating.
Bethel Skinker, a district engineer with MDEQ, said Russo contacted her office in September and requested that the DEQ investigate whether materials used for the installation of a yard hydrant used to make ice for the city's outdoor hockey rink off Shepherd Street contained lead. Russo also reported to Skinker that there was at least one residential location where fittings containing lead were used.
In an Oct. 4 letter to Amy Gilson, Charlotte's director of public works, Skinker said city staff submitted documents and photos to the DEQ "showing that the materials used for the installation of that hydrant meets the lead free requirement."
"We were not able to investigate the residential installation mentioned in the complaint because the complainant did not provide us with the address," Skinker wrote.
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In October, Russo told other city officials he contacted the DEQ about the issue and that his informant was a current or former city employee.
City officials say Russo has not been forthcoming and are working to determine how much should be spent to investigate the claims. Russo has not divulged the name of his informant. About a week ago, for the first time, he provided the city with a handful of addresses where he alleges fittings that contain lead were used.
Determining whether lead-free fittings were used at 47 "sites" within the city where pipe connections have been replaced or installed since state standards were changed three years ago could carry a significant price tag.
Excavating one site could cost as much as $3,000 and digging up all of them would cost more than $144,000.
Misconduct in office?
Charlotte Mayor Tim Lewis and Councilman Bill Mitchell said they agree with Guetschow that Russo is hindering the city's investigation. Thomas Hitch, Charlotte’s city attorney, said Russo’s refusal to disclose everything he knows about the allegation amounts to "misconduct in office.”
Russo has a fiduciary responsibility, Hitch said, to tell city officials who told him that city staff knowingly used brass fittings containing some lead.
Russo told fellow council members at a Dec. 27 meeting that an “informant” approached him in August, claiming that fittings used to connect pipes to some water lines contained lead. He added that he obtained a signed affidavit from the individual “so that I covered myself in taking this forward.”
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Russo was pressured by Guetschow at that meeting to reveal the addresses where the fittings were used, and, in recent days, has provided six addresses.
"I want you to tell me the name of the person you're talking to," Guetschow told Russo during the Dec. 27 meeting.
"I'm not going to do that," Russo told him. "This person is a source. I think the source is a competent source."
Hitch argued that Russo was obligated to disclose the informant's name.
"An officer of the public owes a duty and loyalty to the public," Hitch said during the meeting. "You have a duty to provide all of the relevant information. You have a duty to give us the source. There's an affidavit? You have a duty to provide a copy of that affidavit that identifies the source so that the city can make an investigation."
That information, Guetschow said Tuesday, is crucial to the "health, safety and welfare" of the city's residents.
Conflicting information
City Council will consider which and how many sites should be excavated Monday, Guetschow said.
In the last three years, there are 47 locations where work has been done on the water system, ranging from minor repairs to full pipe replacement.
Guetschow said the most recent information from Russo indicates the fittings were not installed at any sites where "complete pipe replacements" were made. The city is working to determine how many of the 47 sites involved that work. However, some of the six addresses Russo provided did have full pipe replacement.
"We're not sure that we're getting the correct information," Guetschow said. "So far none of the evidence indicates there's an issue. There's nothing here that leads us to believe that the allegation has any merit to it."
Lewis believes Russo is "standing in the way" of the city's investigation of the claim.
"At that point, he's blocking what we're trying to do," Lewis said this week. "My feeling is he needs to come forward and tell the city who this individual is."
Mitchell said Russo's refusal to disclose his source is "possibly" hindering the city's investigation.
Councilman Chris Bahmer declined comment on the issue.
"I think the right thing will get done eventually," Mitchell said.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.