The City of Durham is working to speed up the timeline for lead remediation in five city parks by hiring a consultant to provide recommendations in the next six months.
Parts of the five parks—Walltown, Lyon, East End, East Durham, and Northgate—have been closed to the public for three years following a Duke University report that found extremely high levels of lead contamination. The report was released in late 2022 but university and city officials didn’t publicly communicate the findings until the following June, leaving residents feeling upset and in the dark about the extent of the contamination, and the impact it could have on them and their families.
On Monday, the Durham City Council voted to contract with A1 Consulting Group to develop a menu of options for lead remediation at four of the five public parks, excluding East End, which is being renovated separately through the 2024 parks bond. A1 Consulting is expected to review soil testing done so far and identify remediation options for each of the parks in the next four-to-six months…