More than 150 Birmingham residents recently received water filters and warnings about potential lead exposure from the Birmingham Water Works, advising them to use the filters during ongoing water line construction.

The utility about a week ago delivered the filters to some customers in the Crestwood area and others in the North Birmingham neighborhood, along with a letter announcing upcoming maintenance.

“While the vast majority of our customers’ water service lines are not made of lead, given the age of the water mains in your area, there is a possibility that some lead material may be encountered and potentially disturbed,” the letter reads. “Given this possibility, BWW is providing water filter pitchers for you to use during construction activities and for a few months following construction activities.”

Rick Jackson, the water works PR Manager, told AL.com that the utility hand-delivered the filters as part of a long term initiative to replace old and outdated pipes across the system. Residents received the letters in the mail.

The utility has invested $25 million for the project in fiscal 2024. The entire project is expected to take 10 to 20 years, Jackson said.

The water works since 2021 has completed nearly 50 main replacement construction projects and have delivered the kits to at least 2,500 customers, Jackson said.

“BWW delivers water pitchers and filters to customers along with educational materials when main replacement is occurring in areas where lead service lines might be present,” Jackson said. “The education materials and pitchers provide an extra layer of safeguard for any potential contaminants, although we’ve never exceeded the EPA’s or ADEM’s action level of lead present in our distribution system.”

Jackson said the water works decided to deliver the kits because of guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

“Although these actions are not required by ADEM and EPA until October 2024, BWW has proactively implemented these best practices since 2021,” he said.

Lead is especially dangerous to children under the age of 6 and to pregnant women, according to the EPA.

“I’ve had some neighbors reach out to me about it, especially some neighbors with young children,” said Frank McCrory, president of the Crestwood North Neighborhood. “I received the package and the letter in the mail, and I know I’ve got some friends several blocks away that got the same thing,” he said. “I don’t know if it is really something to be alarmed about or not. We’ve been using ours just to be on the safe side.”

Lead is a naturally occurring element found in small amounts in the earth’s crust, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. While it has some beneficial industrial uses, it can cause health problems for humans and animals.

Lead can enter drinking water through corroded older plumbing materials, especially in homes built before 1986.

Lead exposure in children can cause brain damage, hearing loss, behavior problems and damage to the nervous system and kidneys, among other issues, according to the EPA.

The unexpected packages from the water works prompted questions from some residents. Employees delivered the kits to 73 homes in Crestwood North and another 78 kits to homes in the North Birmingham area.

“It worries you a little bit,” said Crestwood resident Verna Gates. “We try our best to be healthy and we expect folks at the water board to take care of the one thing that they are responsible for, which is our water quality.”

“We pay an awful lot for water, and it seems like we should have some better service than this to make sure that our drinking water is safe,” Gates added.

Crestwood resident Sylvia Martin also received the hand-delivered package but was not frightened by its message. Martin saw the delivery as a precautionary measure.

“It didn’t scare me,” she said. “I wasn’t alarmed by it.”