EDIE ZUVANICH Special to the Press
Facing a deadline from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, city of Taylor officials authorized a contract to inventory water lines in search of potentially-deadly lead pipes.
HDR Engineering will be responsible for conducting the survey of public and private water service lateral pipes within the city’s service area.
“The city ensures that the drinking water in the city of Taylor is tested on a regular basis and is safe to drink, and takes proactive steps to safeguard our system,” said Troy St. Tours of HDR Engineering.
St. Tours is also the city’s water and wastewater project manager.
“It is important for us to know what our service lines are so we can proactively plan for replacement of infrastructure over time to reduce the potential for health risks,” he said.
As of 2020, the city estimates it had 6,500 service lines. Potentially almost two-thirds of those water lines, up to 4,200 pipes, were in place before the 1988 state lead ban. While not all pipes were made of lead, and many pipes from that time period may have already been replaced, there remains a chance that some of the older pipes may still contain lead.
“There is no safe level of lead exposure, and it is essential that we accelerate progress on locating lead pipes that deliver drinking water where people live, work, and play,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox.
Lead exposure has been linked to medical conditions including high blood pressure, nerve damage, cardiovascular problems, infertility and developmental delays.
The EPA enacted the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions in December, 2021, as part of its efforts to completely eradicate lead service lines in the U.S. Under the LCRR, water systems (including states and municipalities) are required to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials by Oct. 16, 2024.
“The work included in this Task Order is to identify and categorize all water service lines in the city’s system, regardless of the installation date, to determine which ones are, or may have, lead materials in compliance with the Rule Revision. Once the inventory is complete, HDR will work with the city to develop a plan for replacing water service lines that are or may contain lead,” St. Tours said.
The project, known as Task Order 45, was approved by Taylor City Council Dec. 14. The engineer’s fee is estimated at $176,991. The city plans to create a community outreach web page as the project gets further underway.
According to the EPA, $15 billion in funding has been set aside through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help replace the estimated 9.2 million lead service pipes across the nation.
The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes (service lines), and brass or bronze faucets and fixtures. The EPA recommends homeowners test their water and replace any brass or bronze water fixtures.
