Lead Pipe Testing by Oct 2024

Starting in the summer of 2023, the city will start a comprehensive inventory of all pipes in the city as per the requirements of the Service Line Inventory requirements in the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). This is a mandatory requirement due to the state and federal rules regarding clean water supplies. Every municipal water supplier in the state must comply. 

The city, based on consultation with outside consultants and other water providers, had created a low cost elimination plan to narrow down the required expenses in this inventory. It is estimated that the initial yearly cost to our customers may be in the range of $1 (one dollar) a month. This potentially will be added to the monthly billing in the next Fiscal year. This fee would only be applied until the project is paid for (estimated at 2 years). If the city finds other funding sources, this fee will be removed sooner. 

This testing will determine lead content in ALL service lines, even those privately owned. The current strategy (which is subject to change) for all ~1500 connections is:

1) Eliminate all homes built after 1985.

2) Test water for lead in all properties remaining.  

3) Open the meter box and test both the city service line and the private service line, as well as potentially test for lead in the supply water at the meter. 

It is the expectations that very few homes will test positive, but the State requires evidentiary documentation on the full testing. Once complete a public report of the results will be available, and the city will prepare a plan for replacement of all city owned pipes which test positive. It is our understanding that homeowners will also be required to replace their service lines if they test positive - the city has been told that multiple funding sources will be made available to facilitate that process. There may be some homes whose service lines test negative, but that the home still tests positive - that information will be provided to the homeowner to help them decide next steps (the state is not requiring that interior lines be replaced). 

More information is to come... this is a project in development, but has a firm deadline of Oct 2024.