By Judith Matloff
Special to DNAinfo
MANHATTAN — New York's tap water can reach temperatures so high that a child could be scalded badly enough for the skin to fall off.
Manhattan Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh of the East Village has introduced a bill that would restrict tap water temperatures but it has languished in Albany for more than a year.
"This is complicated legislation," said Kavanagh, adding that resistance from property owners and the logistics of bringing in city departments such as Housing Preservation and Development to enforce the law doesn't make things any easier.
"Most industries resist new legislation, and the landlord industry has resisted this legislation," he said. "Like every industry, they're asserting that this regulation is not worth the cost that it would require to implement it. We disagree and we work forward to working with them."
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that water temperatures be limited to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, but at some apartments in the city, the water can get hot enough to make oatmeal in the sink.
Safety advocates are concerned.
“No one needs water that is 160 degrees Fahrenheit or even 140 degrees,” said Dr. Aaron Miller, head of the child advocacy unit at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx.
Apartments built after 1997 must max out at 120 degrees, but older buildings have no such restriction. Excessively hot household water causes on average 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths a year nationwide, according to the CPSC. Scorching water in bathtubs and showers is the leading cause of hospital admissions for burns.
Most scalding victims are the elderly or under age 5. They face greater risks due to the thinness of their skin and inability to respond quickly to contact with hot water.
Temperatures can spike in an individual bathtub when many faucets run at the same time, or someone hits the tap without meaning to. In these situations, every degree matters.
At 130 Fahrenheit, it takes up to 9 minutes to sustain a third-degree burn. That shortens to 5 seconds at 140. A single second would do the trick at 158.
All that would be avoided if property owners turned down the thermostat or installed mixing valves that add cold water at the central boiler as needed. Or they could install anti-scald valves on individual taps.
So why don’t landlords do that?
“Look, a lot of buildings can’t afford them,” said Frank Ricci, of the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord lobby group. He also cited the hassle of hiring a licensed plumber who has to shut off the water for a building while adjustments are made.
To boost the chances of getting his bill passed this year, Kavanagh has drafted two versions. One emphasizes the potential energy savings landlords could reap by keeping down the water temperature. The other focuses on the injury angle. He thinks the energy argument will get the most traction.
"People are rethinking aspects of daily life in order to save energy," Kavanagh said. "It also creates the possibility that this legislation could pay for itself. Landlords could claim credit in the name of long-term energy efficiency."
