Contrary to a report in a British newspaper, local water utilities are following all the current procedures when it comes to testing water for possible contaminants, officials said.

The newspaper report also drew a sharp critique by Kentucky Division of Water Director Pete Goodmann, who called it “irresponsible” and highly misleading.

A report in The Guardian, a London-based daily newspaper, claimed an investigation it conducted found that many communities used water testing “cheats” that “potentially conceal dangerous levels of lead.” It claimed that the investigation found that in 23 cities, “the testers were told to run water slowly, which causes less lead to be dislodged from pipes.” Bowling Green was listed as one of those cities.

However, the latest guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency directs water testers to “gently” fill a water bottle for testing, according to Bowling Green Municipal Utilities Water and Wastewater Manager Mike Gardner. A memo from EPA official Peter Grevatt is cited in The Guardian article. It calls for using wide-mouth bottles over narrow-necked bottles to get a “higher flow rate” for getting water samples.

Gardner said the testing protocol that has been used locally “is verbatim from the EPA.”

John Dix, Warren County Water District general manager, said the utility is simply following the latest official EPA guidelines.

“No. 1, it’s not a rule,” Goodmann said of the memo, adding that water officials are “rightly frustrated by this. A memo is not binding, it’s not even guidance.”

He said current EPA rules do call for filling a sample bottle “gently,” while the memo calls for filling it as a consumer would a water glass.

“What does that even mean? I don’t know if there is a significant difference,” Goodmann said.

The last water sampling locally for lead was in 2015. The Guardian report notes that the EPA memo was published in February of this year, but does not address how it determined that not following water testing protocols that were not yet in place was “cheating.” That issue was also cited by Goodmann.

“Applying it retroactively and calling them cheaters is irresponsible,” he said.

Gardner said studies have shown that using a faster water flow for testing “may” have an impact on results, “but how much we don’t know.”

Both he and Dix said, however, that it would not likely have a significant impact because the local water has repeatedly been found to be “very safe” and at low risk for lead contamination, Dix said.

BGMU serves about 19,000 customers. WCWD serves about 27,000 customers in Warren as well as almost 8,000 in Butler and Simpson counties.

“We always follow the guidelines,” Gardner said.

“As soon as the EPA directs us to change, we will,” Dix said.

Both BGMU and WCWD are not scheduled to have water tested for lead again for another two years, an every three years schedule that is dictated by the state.

Gardner said the utility “was really concerned about this because we take our responsibility very seriously,” adding that reports such as The Guardian’s “undermines public trust.”

In response to the report, BGMU and WCWD issued a joint statement that called The Guardian “an Internet tabloid” and the “allegations … completely false.”

“Warren County Water District (WCWD) and Bowling Green Municipal Utilities (BGMU) are in full compliance with all EPA guidelines related to lead testing. Both utilities tested for lead in 2015, and all water was found to be completely safe,” the statement read. “WCWD and BGMU take very seriously our role in providing safe, clean drinking water. Both utilities will continue to comply with all EPA guidelines for lead sampling.

Since 1998, The Guardian has been named National Newspaper of the Year four times by the British Press Awards and in 2014 shared the Pulitzer prize for public service with The Washington Post for its reporting on the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities.

— Follow city government reporter Wes Swietek on Twitter @BGDNgovtbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.