Moscow building’s water tests high for lead, copper

Residents of the historic McConnell Building in downtown Moscow have been consuming bottled water since last week after elevated levels of lead and copper were discovered in some of the residents’ tap water.

Emsi CEO Andrew Crapuchettes purchased the building — where Mingles Bar and Grill is located on the corner of Main and First streets — in May.

As part of the process of getting to know the structure, water samples were taken throughout the building for testing, according to letters posted inside the building from Kestrel Property Management, which manages the structure.

The letters state the results determined the mineral levels were high on the building’s third floor and it recommends not using the water to drink or cook until the problem has been resolved.

The building was built in 1891 and the pipes are old, so there is no telling how long the levels have been high, said Mike Church, owner of KPM in Moscow.

He said Idaho Ice, a local bottled water supplier, immediately provided water to residents of all 34 apartments — even those that did not test high in copper and lead — and will continue to do so until the situation is resolved.

Church said the exact problem has yet to be identified, but it appears the old pipes are the culprits, so they may need to be replaced. It is unknown when residents will be able to safely drink the tap water.

Church said he hopes to have plumbers in the building as early as next week to diagnose the problem. Tenants will be updated as the process unfolds, he said.

Crapuchettes said via email several significant deferred maintenance issues have been discovered since he purchased the building.

Church said residents that he and his management company have spoken with are extremely thankful they are taking care of the water issue and other infrastructure problems in the building.

“I’m very grateful to be working for a landlord who does care about it, you know?” Church said. “They want to make sure to find every issue they can and fix it and improve the building.”

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.