MINNEAPOLIS— According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there are approximately 100,000 lead pipes bringing water to homes in Minnesota.
Now there’s a statewide effort to replace them all.
On Thursday, contract workers replaced the pipes, known as service lines, that bring water to homes in Minneapolis’ Midtown Phillips neighborhood.
The reason: those pipes are made of lead.
“Some of them date back to the 1890s,” said John Howes, senior professional engineer at Minneapolis Waterworks.
The toxic metal is known to cause a variety of serious health problems, such as brain damage and even death.
This year, the city of Minneapolis is replacing approximately 300 lead service lines. In total, there are approximately 39,000 sheds in the city that contain lead.
The plan is to replace all of these pipes within 10 years, Howes said.
Currently, the city of Minneapolis is prioritizing the replacement of lead pipes in older, more marginalized neighborhoods in north and south Minneapolis.
The work is being done at no cost to residents, thanks to a combination of state and federal funds totaling just over $500 million over five years.
However, the entire project is expected to cost double that, at around $1 billion. A spokesperson for the Department of Health said additional state and federal support is needed to pay for the entire project across the state.
“It’s a federal initiative to take the lead across the country,” Howes said.
In Minneapolis, Howes said lead pipes are not an immediate health problem, at least in Minneapolis, thanks to an additive that helps prevent lead from entering the water.
“We add orthophosphate to the water, which is a corrosion inhibitor,” says Howes.
Peter Melling said he had no idea he had a lead pipe leading to his Midtown Phillips home. As a result of the project, Melling recently had his pipes replaced with copper pipes.
“A bit surprised, but not surprised. There is lead everywhere in the older city neighborhoods,” said Melling.
An additional 1,000 pipes will be replaced in Minneapolis next year, with work just beginning, Howes said.
“I’m glad they’re doing it. I’m glad they were able to get the funding for it, and I’m glad a lot of my neighbors are getting it done,” Melling said.
Water providers across the state select homes to get started, so there is no application process.
Here you can see if you have a main service line.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are also monitoring the main service lines.
