Columbus is making progress towards replacing the thousands of lead pipes that still exist in the city as all U.S. cities are on a 2037 federal deadline to remove all lead pipes.
Columbus Water and Power knows of more than 24,000 lead service lines still in the ground, but expect to find more over time. The city is working to replace these pipes and also take inventory of private properties that have lead pipes to get those replaced too.
Emelie Eskridge with Columbus Water and Power says they expect to be able to remove 5,000 pipes a year once the removal program peaks in a few years. Last year, Eskridge said the city removed 2,100 pipes in the city.
"Most of them are being held together by the ground. At this point, they're well beyond their useful life," Eskridge said. "So this is really a big benefit to the homeowner and to the customer that's receiving this new line. They're going from something that's at high risk of failing to something that is new and should have a 50-year lifespan or so."
Lead is a neurotoxin, but was often used at the primary material for water pipes in many U.S. cities in the early and mid-20th century. Eskridge said Columbus has gradually removed the aging, corroded pipes since 1996, but the city started taking a more proactive approach last year by creating the $1 billion Lead Service Line Replacement Program.
"It's been slow, steady work," Eskridge said.
Eskridge said the city rarely ever sees any lead exposure in drinking water, largely thanks to a robust water filtration system that removes corroded contaminants from the water supply.
"We don't have a lead problem in Columbus. We're very fortunate to have really excellent corrosion control. So we treat the water to prevent any lead exposure through our drinking water. We rarely see any detections of lead in the drinking water," Eskridge said.
Columbus City Council is voting Monday to make the program a little easier, and cheaper, for some residents. The city will allow water customers to get into compliance with city law requiring the removal of lead pipes by sending in a photo as a way to verify they no longer have lead pipes.
As of now, when a drinking water customer receives a 30-day notice from the city to replace a lead service line, they only had three options to comply. Customers could sign up for the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, contract to replace their line themselves or provide written proof from a licensed contractor that they do not have a lead service line.
Eskridge said hiring someone else to do this could cost more than $100 depending on the contractor someone hires.
Eskridge said they've created a survey and online self-identification tool that customers fill out with a little bit of information about themselves, say what material the pipe is made of and they send the city a picture.
"It's as simple as going into their basement and looking at where the service line comes through the wall," Eskridge said. "And so because it's so straightforward and so easy for the customer to do, we realized they don't need a contractor to do this."
Eskridge said the whole reason the city is changing the code is to allow customers to use that self assessment to let the city know what type of material their pipe is. She said the city has a good idea of the pipes within the public domain, but not fully what pipes are in private homes.
Because of this, Eskridge said she wouldn't be surprised if the city replaces between 55,000 to 60,000 lead pipes before the federal government's 2037 deadline.
Eskridge said she wants city residents to proactively use the city's self-assessment tool to help the city catalogue what type of pipes residents have.
"We need customers to do that, whether you're scheduled for a project or not," Eskridge said. "It's so easy for them to go into their basement, take a photo, turn it into us. We'll confirm your material. And then you know what you have and we can help update our inventory."
