A newly formed group to reduce the amount of lead in drinking water held its first meeting on Tuesday.
The seven-member “Corrosion Control Advisory Panel” is part of a broader effort by the state to address aging lead service lines.
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy spokesperson Hugh McDiarmid said the panel’s main duty will be giving agencies like his advice.
“Corrosion control is sort of an intermediate step to protect residents from excessive lead in their drinking water while the state embarks on this really aggressive effort.”
Corrosion control limits the leaching of metals into water from pipes.
Aaron Keatley helped facilitate the meeting for EGLE. He said the state has consulted some of the panel members before.
“What we’re doing here in this particular panel is trying to formalize some of those informal actions that we already have and at the same time make sure that we’re getting perspectives of multiple people at the same time and allowing for there to be a dialogue.”
The panel discussed specific focus areas where it can provide input during Tuesday’s meeting.
Those include ensuring corrosion control compliance and treatment selection.
There’s no set timeline for the panel’s existence or length of membership. It will likely next meet in mid-January.
