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See the original article from Toledo Blade.
Toledo City Councilmen and community activists are adamant the city’s 30,000 lead water service lines be replaced once a new regional water system is established, and work to modernize those pipes is about to ramp up. Beginning in 2020, city crews will systematically go through Toledo’s neighborhoods to replace lead pipes with copper ones. It’s a deliberate, methodical effort to switch out the old pipes, but crews have been slowly modernizing the water service lines for the last two decades. Christy Soncrant, an administrator with the city’s engineering services division, said officials in 1999 kicked off an effort to replace aging water mains in the city. The water service lines are the pipes that shoot off from the water main and carry drinking water to homes and businesses, and crews decided to replace those service lines when they were doing the water main work. Twenty years later, crews began replacing any lead service lines uncovered during street repair projects. Environmental Defense Fund
See the original blog. In January, we reported on the tremendous progress made by states and communities in 2018 to replace lead service lines (LSLs) – the estimated 6.1 million lead pipes across the country that connect homes and other buildings to the water main under the street. At that time, our tracker stood at 95 communities and 16 states working to replace LSLs. Half a year later, and the total number of communities (including municipalities and water utilities) EDF has learned of that are leading the way has swelled to 181.
WREX.com
See the original article. ROCKFORD (WREX) — A federal grant is allowing the City of Rockford to replace lead water pipes. The city secured a $2 million Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) State Revolving Loan that doesn’t need to be paid back. Over the next five years, Rockford Water plans to replace about 2,500 of its 14,000 known lead service lines, focusing on the highest risk pipes first. The $2 million is expected to cover work that started in July and will go through spring. The city plans to apply for another loan to continue the program once the $2 million is used. It will take several years to replace all the lead lines. The city says they’re taking a three-prong approach to the project:
Daily Gazette
See the original article. The money is part of $10 million awarded to 18 municipalities in New York state in July. The state also spent $10 million on the lead service line replacement program last year, all of the funding coming from the $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017. Unlike many lead pipe removal programs, this one pays the entire cost of replacing a lead service line feeding water into a private residence, without cost to the homeowner. The rules of the Lead Service Line Replacement program allow each municipality to decide which homeowners can tap into the funds. The money can be used to either reimburse private contractors hired by homeowners, with contracts approved by the state, or to reimburse the municipality for costs incurred to its Department of Public Works. Eligible expenses include engineering plans for removal of the pipes, as well as construction costs. The state estimates the cost to replace most residential lines will be $5,000 to $10,000 per lead service line. Each municipality will be responsible for contacting homeowners to confirm the presence of a lead service line, full or partial, and whether or not the homeowner is interested in having it replaced. WSPY News
Read the original article. The Village of Montgomery will soon remove the last remaining lead service lines in the village. Earlier this week, the village board unanimously approved intent to award a $1,060,741 contract for Brandt Excavating of Morris to complete lead service line replacement for 105 lines in the Marviray Manor subdivision and in downtown Montgomery. As WSPY previously reported, the village applied for a 100% forgivable loan up to $1 million through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the contract is contingent on that approval and would be finalized essentially when the paperwork is returned. Wooster Daily Record
Read the original article RITTMAN — Rittman Utilities will start replacing waterlines on Third Street in the next 45 days that may be made of lead. The waterline replacement project will affect residences on South Third Street between North Park Street and Ohio Avenue and on North Third Street between Ohio Avenue and Clover Street. City records indicate that the part of the water service line that connects the water main to the plumbing system on the resident’s property may be made of lead. “A lead service line can present the largest single source of lead in a property’s plumbing system and replacement of the line is the only way to ensure that the line does not present a danger to people consuming water,” Rittman Utilities Director Ken Mann wrote in a letter to Third Street residents dated Aug. 20. AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (WRGB) – It’s a city in dire financial straights. But now there’s some hope.
A new state grant could help kick start replacement of lead pipes that lead to homes, including homes on a street CBS 6 has covered extensively. Mayor Michael Villa provided CBS 6 a picture of a letter from the state Department of Health. It says the city of Amsterdam will be given just under $522,000 to replace lead service pipes that deliver water to homes. While this money will be used throughout the city, the Mayor says Church Street will be included. More than four years after a public health emergency was declared due to lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, MI, communities across the country continue to battle lead service lines (LSLs). In New York, a multimillion-dollar program may help put an end to that struggle.
“Eighteen communities around New York state are splitting $10 million in new state funding for the replacement of old drinking water lines that may contain lead,” according to a report from AP News. “The effort to replace lead pipes is part of a broad $2.5 billion program approved by lawmakers to improve drinking water systems around the state.” There have been different approaches to combating the lead contamination problem in the U.S., including concerted treatment efforts at drinking water plants that add corrosion protection. But ultimately, the only way to truly solve the problem is to replace lead-leaching pipelines. New York has already awarded $20 million for replacement costs as part of its larger $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act from 2017. Environmental Defense Fund
As we have explained in past blogs, it is critical that states have rough estimates of how many lead service lines (LSLs) each drinking water utility in the state may have in order to develop sound policy decisions and set priorities. Congress recognized the importance of LSL inventories when it directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 to develop a national count of LSLs on public and private property in the next round of the 2020 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey. States have a crucial supporting role in the Needs Survey since it is the basis of allocating State Revolving Loan Funds to the states. This month, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) released a useful guidance document to help states develop LSL inventories. The guidance builds on the lessons learned from:
City of Hornell to receive $528,750
HORNELL — Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that $10 million will be awarded to 18 municipalities statewide to continue the state’s initiative to replace residential drinking water lead service lines through the New York State Department of Health’s Lead Service Line Replacement Program. Among them is the City of Hornell, which is receiving $528,750. Hornell and the City of Norwich were the award winners in the Southern Tier region. “New York has invested unprecedented funding to protect drinking water quality including critical infrastructure projects that are underway across the state,” Governor Cuomo said. “This next round of funding advances our commitment to helping municipalities upgrade outdated systems, helping improve health and keep our communities thriving.” |
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November 2019
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