In light of the water crisis going on in Flint, Michigan, two Buffalo elected officials wanted to find out if the Queen City's water supply is safe.
Council President Darius Pridgen and Councilmember Joel Feroleto requested the tour and were shown the treatment plant on Porter Avenue.
Leading them on the tour was Steve Stepniak, the city's Commissioner of Public Works, Streets and Parks. Showing the lawmakers the filtration system and explaining where water comes in and how water quality is tested, he assured them and reporters who followed that the city's supply is safe.
When asked about the presence of lead, which has severely contaminated the system in Flint, Stepniak stated that Buffalo's water has a presence about five times below the federal threshold of 15 parts per billion.
"What we do is we have a numerous (point) testing system that goes on throughout the City of Buffalo," Stepniak said. "We test at the source, we test at the mid-point. We test the water system and we also test residentially."
Testing of water at households, Stepniak said, is done on an fully volunteer basis. The city is interested in recruiting more homes in which it may test water. Stepniak encouraged people to call 311 for more information about signing up.
The Buffalo Water Authority has uploaded information about its system, including intake, treatment and testing, on its website.
One of the lawmakers taking the tour, Council President Pridgen, recently returned from Flint after delivering thousands of units of bottled water to residents affected by that city's water crisis. He told reporters that a part of the problem in Flint was a lack of transparency by the authorities responsible for managing the water supply. He said he was encouraged by the transparency of Buffalo's water system.
"What I'm encouraged about is that there is a site where we are able to go and study it," Pridgen said. "I'm encouraged because the commissioner even said if someone feels that their water is not right, that the City of Buffalo will work out a process to get that water tested."
Stepniak advised residents with older pipes that if they're uncertain about their water upon opening the tap, let it run for a few moments and perhaps change the temperature, and the water will be useable.
Pridgen, meanwhile, said he will be returning to Flint for more relief assistance in two weeks.
