Lead

The state says residents can still face lead exposure due to lead pipes inside their homes. Residents are still being told not to drink the city's water.

The St. Joseph County Department of Health will offer free lead testing for children under seven years old in South Bend on Oct. 26 as part of national lead poisoning prevention week.

According to a Tuesday release from the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, more than 90 percent of the lines in the city have now been inspected and replaced with copper lines or verified non-lead.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said the 90th percentile value of lead in the city's drinking water was 14 parts per billion, just within the federal action level.

The state adopted an emergency rule last month to lower the threshold for when public health agencies have to address elevated blood lead levels in children — and will consider making the change permanent.

The case involves damage claims on behalf of four children exposed to Flint’s lead tainted tap water. They’re suing two engineering firms hired as consultants on Flint’s water system. The companies deny responsibility.

Since elevated levels of lead were discovered in Benton Harbor’s tap water, the city has inspected or replaced roughly one in five water service lines. The goal is to complete the work by Spring 2023.

For five months, state health officials have told Benton Harbor residents not to drink their tap water. But now that safety message is shifting.

The civil trial concerns damage claims by four children exposed to Flint’s tainted drinking water. Former Gov. Rick Snyder has been subpoenaed as a potential witness.

In the 1930s and 40s, the Beck’s Lake area on South Bend’s west side was used as an industrial dumping ground.