OLEAN — Eric Wohlers, the Cattaraugus County Health Department’s director of Environmental Health, was flabbergasted when he learned of the scope of lead contamination in the Flint, Mich., water supply.

Could the same thing happen here?

“No,” replied Wohlers, who has spent the past 23 years as the county’s Environmental Health director. His office oversees “close to 200 water systems” in the county.

The spike in lead levels in the Flint drinking water could not have been undetected by city, county and state water officials, Wohlers believes.

Chris Crawford, a water resource specialist for the health department, said the rise in lead levels was predictable given Flint’s change of water sources from lake water to river water that was more corrosive. Water system operators had to know what was happening, he said, for almost two years.

High lead levels can lead to neurological problems — particularly in children — as well as aggressive behavior, irritability, sleep problems, headaches, abdominal cramps, constipation, loss of developmental skills in children, loss of appetite, fatigue, high blood pressure, numbness or tingling in the extremities, memory loss, anemia and kidney dysfunction.

Since a child’s brain is still developing, lead can lead to mental impairment and behavior problems including low IQ, poor grades at school and hearing problems. The lead levels rose from non-reportable to actionable. People are avoiding the lead contaminated water by using filters in some cases, and using bottled water in other cases for drinking, washing hands and food, and bathing.

The Flint water crisis is a hot topic for discussion by those whose job it is to oversee public water supplies locally.

Crawford said had officials followed procedures, the crisis could have been averted.

Lead was leaching out of the pipes due to more-corrosive river water when the city switched sources as a cost-saving measure. Crawfords said a study could have predicted the corrosivity of the river water and the possibility of leaching lead out of the old pipes. No study was done, however, before the change over was made.

He said a small amount of polyphosphate added to the water would have coated the inside of water pipes and stopped the lead leaching into the water. A news report Friday indicated the cost of the polyphosphate would have been less than $100 a day.

“It coats the inside of the pipe and stops leaching,” Wohlers said, noting polyphospate can be used to coat pipes and protect from other leached material, like how the village of Portville uses it to stop the leaching of rust from cast iron pipes.

Wohlers said water customers receive annual water quality reports with the results of water tests for both organic and chemical contaminants.

“They (officials) had all this information,” Wohlers said.

“Somebody’s going to jail,” Crawford remarked. “I can’t imagine someone would flagrantly say we’re not going to do this because we can’t afford it.”

The Environmental Health Division provides each public water system’s operator with an updated list of what water samples are required. Health Department officials also get the results of the tests at the same time as the water system operators.

“Part of our job is educating the water operators,” Crawford said. All operators are required to receive continuing education every year.

Most of Cattaraugus County’s public water systems are from water wells, and are easily monitored. Surface water from lakes, rivers or streams as well as springs must be filtered before chlorination and the addition of other chemicals.

These systems need to implement operation and maintenance schedules, Wohlers said. “There have to be resources to take care of the systems,” he said. The systems have to think about preventative maintenance, replacing the worst sections of pipe on a regular basis.

“Our water systems are getting older and a lot of communities haven’t budgeted for replacement of pipe,” Wohlers said. “Communities need a master plan to replace the oldest sections every few years.”

What does Wohlers hope the public takes away from the Flint water crisis?

“Hopefully, it brings to mind why we have these regulations, why we regulate and why proper maintenance is required,” Wohlers replied.

“Be informed,” he said. “Look at these consumer (water) quality reports. Ask questions. You need to be informed. Talk to your water people if you have questions.”

Most water problems are discovered through routine monitoring, Wohlers said.

As an example, 30 years ago, local health officials began finding a degreasing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) in measureable parts in Olean’s water supply. Studies found area industries had contaminated the East Olean groundwater with TCE. Under EPA orders, the industries paid the city to install air strippers to remove the chemical and build water lines to supply town of Olean homes with contaminated wells. The EPA continues to monitor the situation and orders continued TCE remedial efforts.

There are public water supply pipes across the county that are more than 100 years old, Crawford said, noting systems often rely on longtime water operators who know the infrastructure.

“This information is often available, but not accessible,” he said, adding the county is assisting communities with the digital mapping of waterlines. “It needs to be done. We try to provide support.”

(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com and follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)