Port may make replacement of lead pipes mandatory

The City of Port Washington, which like communities across the state and country is facing a mandate to eliminate lead water pipes in the streets, should require homeowners to replace the galvanized steel and lead water lines that lie between the curb and their houses during the next 10 years, the Board of Public Works said last week.

But acknowledging the high cost of the work — an estimated $7,500 per property — the board said that the city should pick up half of that amount.

Property owners could pay their share of the cost over three to five years through a special assessment, the board recommended.

“No one living in a home with lead pipes put that lead there,” Water Supt. Dan Fisher told the board.

“We want to get the lead pipes replaced in the city,” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said. “We want to eliminate that as a potential health issue. It’s a benefit to the community.”

The Environmental Protection Agency and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are requiring communities to replace the so-called public lead pipes — those from the water mains to the curb  and encouraging them to remove as many private-side lead pipes — from the curb to the house —as they can, Fisher said.

The city has until 2037 to replace any lead pipes in the street, which is its responsibility to finance.

Of the 4,087 lead water services in Port, 641 are known or suspected to be lead and galvanized steel and would need to be replaced for a total cost of $4.8 million, a study presented to the board on May 12 states.

Lead in pipes is a concern because it can leach into the water, which is then ingested by people. Even low levels of exposure  have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing and impaired formation and function of blood cells.

Galvanized pipes don’t contain lead, but they absorb it and can release it into the water under certain conditions.

“While the water utility is not obligated to fund private-side replacements, complete lead removal is necessary for long-term public health,” the study states.

Just figuring out how many lead or galvanized water pipes are present in Port is something the city’s water utility has been working on for several years.

The report notes that there are 349 known private-side lines known to be lead or galvanized steel and another 292 suspected to be lead or galvanized pipes.

The city has been working to replace the public-side lead service lines as it rebuilds the city’s streets.

The city has three basic options for a lead replacement program, Fisher told the board.

It can coordinate a private-side replacement program and offer property owners the option of paying for it through a special assessment. Special assessments typically run for three to five years, he said.

This would not be a mandatory program, Fisher said.

The second option is to require property owners replace lead and galvanized pipes and cover half the cost, which he said would increase participation and accelerate lead removal.

The third option would be to allow private property owners to decide when and if to replace their lines, something Fisher said isn’t recommended. That’s because fewer lead lines would likely be removed in a timely manner, the cost would be greater since contractors would be handling individual properties and it’s difficult to track who has and hasn’t replaced the pipes.

The public-side lead and galvanized pipes need to be replaced within 45 days of the private-side lines being replaced, Fisher said, which would be difficult on a piecemeal basis.

“I think getting lead out of the system is fantastic,” board member Nick Suddendorf said. “But I’m a little uncomfortable requiring people to do it.”

If a community subsidizes the work, officials said, the program must be mandatory.

Suddendorf also asked why the city would only pay half the cost, and Fisher said this is the maximum allowed by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

Ald. Mary Lou Mueller, a member of the board and the only one to vote against the recommendation, asked if the city would provide a rebate to homeowners who have already paid to have these lead lines replaced.

That isn’t allowed, Fisher said.

The impact of the program on water rates was questioned by Ald. Mike Gasper, chairman of the board.

“Is that going to lead us to any rate increase immediately?” he asked.

City Engineer Roger Strohm said that isn’t likely.

“Generally the feeling is it can be funded with the current rate structure,” he said.

The study stated that if the city were to offer a five-year special assessment program for homeowners, it would tie up about $1.4 million during that time. For a three-year special assessment, he said, only about $960,000 would be tied up.

Strohm noted that one justification the PSC gave when approving the city’s last rate increase was the need to replace lead pipes.

“There are going to be rate increases between now and the time we do this regardless,” Vanden Noven said, noting rates are set to go up later this year to help fund the improvements to the water plant that are currently underway.

The proposed lead service program is expected to be reviewed by the General Government and Finance Committee on June 2 before being considered by the Common Council.