Father Sues DC Water Authority for $200 Million

Jonathan, 8, left, and his twin brother Joshua, 8, play educational video games with their father...

Jonathan, 8, left, and his twin brother Joshua, 8, play educational video games with their father John Parkhurst, in Washington, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009. Parkhurst, from northeast Washington, has filed a $200 million lawsuit against the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, claiming his twin sons were poisoned as infants during the city's lead crisis.

(Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

A single father is suing the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority for $200 million, claiming lead-contaminated tap water poisoned his twin sons as infants, causing them ongoing health problems.

The water utility between 2001 and 2004 hid elevated levels of lead from customers and federal authorities, plaintiff John Parkhurst of Capitol Hill claims in the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status. WASA failed to take steps to remedy the situation, omitted language from public education campaigns that would have warned people about the problem and continued to encourage residents to drink the water, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court.

The complaint comes on the heels of a study that determined hundreds of D.C. children might be at risk of irreversible IQ loss, developmental delays and behavioral problems linked to the lead levels. The Children's National Medical Center and Virginia Tech research contradicts claims by D.C. and federal health officials who said in 2004 that although lead in city water was at record-breaking levels, they didn't find any measurable ill effects on public health.

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WASA officials said linking lead in water to children's developmental and behavioral problems requires "scientific and case-specific substantiation."

"We know the community is concerned about the possible impact of elevated levels of lead in the water in the early part of the decade, as are we," WASA said in a statement responding to the lawsuit. "We continue to consult with health experts and the scientific community to learn more."

Meanwhile, the validity of a 2007 research paper that also claimed D.C. residents were unharmed by the water crisis is being questioned by city officials who want an investigation. The paper was written by a university professor who had a contract with WASA.

"It's very clear that WASA did everything it could do to protect itself, rather than protect the public," said Katherine Kimpel, an attorney with Sanford, Wittels & Heisler in Washington, which is representing Parkhurst.