US Virgin Islands: Joe Biden Declares State of Emergency Over Lead in the Water

Officials have found that lead has contaminated the water on the island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands (USVI), and this prompted President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency in the US Caribbean territory.

The levels of lead found in the waters of St. Croix were more than 100 times over the limits set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This was seen as one of the worst results ever seen in a US community in decades.

Because of the high amounts of lead in the water on St. Croix Island, USVI officials have told its residents not to use any of their taps. Local officials have now also started distributing vouchers for bottled water so residents can have something safe to drink or use for cooking.

However, experts told the Associated Press that the testing done by US Virgin Islands officials may be false because these came from testing that did not meet EPA standards. One of these experts is Marc Edwards, a water expert who helped identify the lead problems in Flint, Michigan. He told the outlet, "The data should be thrown into the garbage."

However, should the findings be actually true, US Virgin Islands officials actually avoided some pitfalls made in the mainland US where information was disseminated late to the residents, particularly in poor communities like Flint, Michigan. This is because US Virgin Islands officials actually acted quickly and warned residents of the lead contamination early, with the territory's governor declaring a state of emergency before President Joe Biden.

"This is not something that we shy away from talking about," Andrew Smith, head of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, told the AP. He also admitted that the sky-high results reflect what is really happening on the island.

US Virgin Islands Officials Did Not Just Find Lead in the Water, But Also Copper

Testing on the water being consumed by residents started in late September after it was found that it usually had a red or brownish color. The initial testing not only found high amounts of lead but also copper.

According to Fox News, USVI officials have promised more testing, with the added warning that water from the tap should not be ingested. This led to the governor declaring a state of emergency, with Joe Biden also declaring a federal state of emergency for the territory to free up funds to deal with the contamination.

EPA Releases Findings With the US Virgin Islands Water

The EPA also ran its own tests alongside the US Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority (VIWAPA) and confirmed that there are indeed elevated levels of lead and copper in some samples.

The EPA announced that it agreed with the USVI assessment that the lead contamination did not originate from the VIWAPA water treatment plant and that the agency is unlikely to be the source of the contamination. More testing is needed, but for now, they are advising residents to avoid water from the tap for now.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Updates on High Lead Levels in Water; Lead Exposure Testing Available - USVI News