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By Maureen Cunningham and Olya Egorov See the original blog. In the United States, there are an estimated 6-10 million lead service lines in approximately 11,000 communities that deliver drinking water to our kitchen taps, potentially exposing individuals of all ages to lead poisoning. Although a number of cities have committed to removing lead pipes in their communities, several municipalities lag behind, largely due to disparities in access to funding, as well as their capacity to manage a wide range of water quality issues in addition to lead. If the revised Lead and Copper Rule (currently subject to a regulatory freeze, while the EPA seeks additional public input) goes into effect, one of the biggest revisions affecting public water systems is the requirement that all water systems conduct an inventory of lead service lines, both public (owned by the water system) and private (owned by the homeowner or landlord) or otherwise prove the absence of lead service lines. Aside from the pending federal regulations and some existing state-level regulations, identifying, mapping, and conducting inventories of lead service lines is one of the first steps to launching a successful lead service line replacement program. The location and number of lead lines, for example, can help determine the most adequate funding strategy, including which grants or loans the municipality can apply for and the percentage of lead lines on the private side versus the public side of the line. Knowing the number and location of lead lines is a basic first step to addressing the problem. Alton Daily News
See the full article. A bill has been introduced in the Illinois legislature that would mandate all water utilities to begin the process of replacing all the lead service lines in the state. State Rep. Lamont Robinson, D-Chicago, has introduced the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act, a bill creating a plan, funding, and timeline for all lead service lines to be identified and replaced. State Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, will file a Senate companion version. See the full article.
ABC 2 The goal of the Shawano County Historical Society is to preserve pieces of the area’s history, but on Thursday a piece of history was removed. “We’re pulling out the lead service pipe that was put in many, many years ago. We’re actually pulling the new plastic right behind the lead as we pull it out,” said Matt Pleshek, an engineer for the city. The public works department started identifying lead service lines that need to be replaced last year. Morning Journal
See the full article. The city of Lorain has received $479,660 toward lead water service line replacements from the Ohio EPA through the Drinking Water Assistance Fund, according to a news release. Ohio EPA is offering up to $1 million in principal forgiveness for complete lead service line replacements to communities with lead service line replacement programs which address both public and private side lead service line replacements, the release said. The city will use the $479,660 on removing lead service lines as part of the Red Hill Water Main Improvement project. Cathy Proctor
Your Hub Read the full article. Sometimes, you need a village. And that’s exactly what Denver Water built to successfully launch the Lead Reduction Program — a massive public health initiative the likes of which has never been done before — to reduce the risk of lead in drinking water. “Elements of the Lead Reduction Program are being done elsewhere, such as replacing lead service lines or providing pitchers and water filters certified to remove lead, but they’ve never been done all at once, in a compressed timeframe and at the scale that Denver Water is doing,” said Alexis Woodrow, manager of the Lead Reduction Program. And that’s in addition to the massive, behind-the-scenes undertaking by Denver Water’s water quality experts and engineers to increase the pH of the water to better protect customers who have service lines, faucets or fixtures that contain lead in their homes. “We’ve been able to draw on the expertise of many companies and people to launch and manage the program — in the middle of a pandemic,” Woodrow said. Kelly Bauer
Block Club Chicago See the full article CHICAGO — Homeowners who wants to replace their lead service lines can apply for help from the city. The city offers two programs, which are now accepting applications, to help people replace lead service lines. The programs were started last year as the city tries to remove lead water pipes to protect residents. People who want to hire a contractor to remove their home’s lead service line can apply for the Homeowner-Initiated Program. If approved, the city will waive their permit fees, which could save them up to $3,100, and city crews will attach the new service line to the water main and give the homeowner a free water meter for the contractor to install, according to the city’s website. Residents who apply to that program must have been planning to replace their lead service line independent of renovations to their home. Morning Journal
See the full article The city of Elyria will receive $922,062 of principal loan forgiveness from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for lead service line (LSL) replacements in over 225 Elyria homes, according to a news release, with the project set to begin this month. About 6.1 million homes across the country receive drinking water through lead service lines (pipes). The Ohio EPA Drinking Water Assistance Fund (DWAF) program directly addresses concerns about lead in drinking water through grant-like principal loan forgiveness. Projects must exhibit a readiness to proceed, have information about LSL locations, and demonstrate authority to address lead lines on private property. “A lot of time and effort went into developing this project and getting these dollars, and includes work from myself, Mayor Whitfield and Director Brubaker, the Water Distribution Department, Law Director Amanda Deery, and Finance Director Ted Pileski,” said Director Samuel F. Jacob in a news release. Maureen Cunningham and Olya Egorov
American City and Country See the full article. “We move Heaven and earth,” says Montana Birt. A transplant from Georgia, Birt is a pastor in a local church in Thorp, Wisc., the smallest of cities with a population of just more than 1,600. His more earthly endeavor, however, involves digging up and replacing lead pipes that threaten to poison his neighbors’ water in Thorp and in Eau Claire, Wisc., about 40 miles west. We met Birt in the course of examining lead service line replacement programs in municipalities across the country. Big cities like Newark, N.J., or Denver often grab the headlines for their programs, but we set out to learn what smaller municipalities with lead pipes are doing to replace them. The problem of lead in drinking water has a clear and viable solution: replace the lead pipes that connect water mains to individual homes and buildings. Unfortunately, the clear solution is muddied by the fact that some of that service line (from the curb to the house) is private, belonging to the individual homeowner or landlord. While removing the full service line is the best way to eliminate the threat of lead in drinking water, most municipalities replace only the publicside of lead pipes, leaving the other half of the problem in the ground. Partial replacement not only fails to address the whole problem, but in the short term, can disturb pipes and thus put homeowners at an even greater health risk. Alternatively, municipalities that require full lead service line replacement, but leave the onus on homeowners to pay the cost of private-side removal, put an unfair burden on low-income and middle-income communities who simply cannot afford it. This can also result in inequitable replacement across a municipality, in particular along racial and economic lines, according to an investigation of Washington, D.C.’s lead service line replacement. Akron.com
See the full article. The City of Akron is continuing the Lead Service Line Replacement Program this year to reduce the number of homes still connected to lead services. According to city officials, for 2021 and 2022, Akron was awarded $1 million in funding for each year from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through a Water Supply Revolving Loan Account loan. These funds do not need to be paid back, said officials. “I’m excited to once again offer the lead service line replacement program to Akron residents,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. “… These funds will help us continue that mission to provide safe, reliable drinking water to our customers.” City officials said records show there are approximately 4,000 lead services remaining in the city’s water distribution system, which make up 4.7 percent of all services. This number has been substantially reduced since the 1950s, when there were upwards of 50,000 lead services in the city. See the full article.
The Daily Northwestern As part of a nationwide project to move away from lead piping, aldermen discussed ways to increase affordability for homeowners looking to replace their lead water service pipes. After the 2014 Flint Water Crisis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Lead and Copper Rule, which will prohibit partial lead service lines after 2024. In coordination with the new regulation, the city is planning to replace all lead portions of the city’s water service line, even with a strained city budget. This year, the city plans to undergo eight separate water main improvement projects which will cost the city a projected $4.5 million. However, the city will only pay for the public portions of the water service lines. Portions on private properties need to be paid at the homeowner’s expense. Currently, Evanston’s Lead Service Replacement Loan Program gives homeowners up to $4,800 in interest free loans to replace lead piping, but the city’s website says the average cost for replacement is about $7,000. |
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March 2021
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