A government scientist in the Polis administration is accused of intentionally reporting inaccurate testing data pertaining to certain metals in the state’s drinking water since 2020.
But not to worry, state officials assure Denver news outlets in a written statement.
Only smaller systems in about 3% of Colorado’s drinking water systems were affected.
So, if you are in that 3%, it may or may not suck to be you. More on that in a minute.
The chemist was busted for manipulating data that impacted thousands of water samples back in December, but a “culture of fear” delayed any response to the problem, Denver 7 News reports.
The public was never informed, and neither were the water districts, until (checks calendar) almost a year later.
Some of the factors they found that contributed to the data manipulation included inadequate oversight, outdated equipment and technology, resource constraints and staffing issues, and communication and cultural challenges.
The tests were to detect levels of copper, barium and chromium. The employee was put on administrative leave in February and later resigned on May 31.
“the state knew of this data manipulation last December, its response was delayed by communication breakdowns, a “culture of fear” within the agency & a reluctance to report issues”
Jill Ryan @CDPHE declined an interview – shocker!#coleg #copolitics https://t.co/vjFZzizcuQ
— Barbara Kirkmeyer (@COSenKirkmeyer) November 19, 2024
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued this vaguely written statement to 7 News:
“In February, the State Public Health Laboratory discovered a quality control lapse affecting one of our water quality methods, method 200.7, which tests for metals and trace elements, including copper, barium, and chromium. Our latest information shows that this affected primarily smaller systems that represent approximately 3% of Colorado’s drinking water systems. After the managing chemist discovered anomalies in test results, we removed the acting chemist from all laboratory testing and began an investigation. Lab supervisors took the time to re-analyze an extremely large amount of data, which led to the discovery of an intentional disregard of protocol by the acting chemist. After we notified the EPA, they revoked the lab’s certification for this method. In order to maintain service, CDPHE is contracting with certified commercial labs to perform these tests.
In August, the EPA prematurely revoked other methods performed by the chemist, prior to the completion of a third-party audit. CDPHE has no current information that demonstrates similar intentional disregard of protocols with the other revoked methods. We have appealed this decision to the EPA, as we wait for third-party data analysis results.
We are in the process of formally notifying and recalling data for the specific water systems, which are primarily smaller systems. At this time, we do not have any evidence of acute public health risks. This third-party investigation is expected to conclude next month.
The State Public Health Laboratory takes quality assurance very seriously. This incident has prompted us to provide additional staff training, and we have hired laboratory consultants to review quality assurance processes across the lab.”
While the state says it has “no evidence of acute public health risks,” one can only hope that doesn’t mean they have evidence of moderate or mild risks. Or even that they’ve started to look for evidence of public health risks at all.
The whole timeline just reeks of malfeasance on the part of the government employees involved in this mess.
Perhaps Gov. Polis should take a page from President-elect Trump and appoint some watchdogs to root out waste, fraud and abuse within his own administration.