CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Communities across the Capital Region continue working to alleviate issues with lead detected in drinking water. On Monday, Troy announced that testing of 60 homes found elevated lead levels in four of the samples.

While the prevalence of lead in some samples is cause for concern, city leaders stress that it’s not in the water supply.

“The issue that we believe is that last line or the last leg, where the water line goes from the street into the home,” said Deputy Mayor Chris Nolin.

Water samples are taken every six months in the city and are randomized, with this recent batch of testing expanding beyond the initial 30 tests. But Nolin says they’re still unsure how widespread the issue is, “I could throw out a rough estimate, the difficulty is without residents helping us figure what pipes are going into their homes, we don’t have an idea.”

So they’re asking for help. Troy homeowners with houses constructed before 1975 are encouraged to contact the Department of Public Utilities, who can help determine if there’s any infrastructure containing lead.

If you do, $500,000 in funding from the EPA has already been secured, “How that’s going to roll out is yet to be determined,” Troy City Council President Carmella Mantello explained.

Mantello says that half a million is just a start, and that the council and city will look to explore other avenues of funding if and when it becomes necessary.

“The idea is that the homeowners will not have to pay that bill and hopefully, we’ll be able to pay that bill and assist homeowners with grants,” she said, adding she would be in favor of using ARPA funding to cover expenses, something Nolin said he’d also be open to exploring.

Lead on the residential end isn’t an issue isolated to the Collar City. The Village of Scotia released a similar advisory last year, and Albany has been working to alleviate the issue for years.

“We’ve got 25,000 customers in the city, we’re guessing, just based on the age of the homes in the system, that we’ve got about 12,000 lead services,” said Joe Coffey, the Commissioner of Water & Water Supply in Albany.

Coffey is also looking for assistance from homeowners, saying the city anticipates the EPA requiring a census-like survey to determine the material used in each home.

With the health risks associated with exposure, Albany has an accelerated goal to be lead-free by 2030, “We’re going to aspire to do that to the extent that we can. Certainly, funding coming down from the federal level will help advance that date,” Coffey explained.

Water testing is also available for Albany homeowners free of charge.