The letters on unknown service lines being sent to property owners on an annual basis, as city administrator Chris Nosbisch noted at the end of the June 15 city council meeting is an opportunity to scare citizens on an annual basis.
This year, that scare was made worse because of a clerical error in how many of the lines were presented now as verified lead service lines, not unknown. Homeowners who received the letters in the past because their homes were built in certain eras probably only had a “unknown service material line” notification. As Nosbisch said, the city can’t verify what materials were used in those service line connections in the past, and if that line has never broken or failed, there’s likely no chance it has been replaced.
Instead, this year, they received a letter stating they had lead service lines. The letters note the harmful effects of lead exposure and ways to remediate. As Nosbisch said, plenty of worthwhile advice in any letter if you are concerned about the make-up of your service line, including getting that line tested to determine if that is the case.
But it is also going to potentially have the reverse effect as the city sends out an explanation of an error and a corrected letter about lines being made of unknown service material.
And WHKS was not able to determine on many of these lines, because the connecting pipe or line to the water meter may have been replaced in previous years. They weren’t testing the water out of the pipes when installing water radio meter reads. They were installing a new, more efficient water meter and noting if something was a possibility.
Again, this clerical error may have many in older homes wondering if that is a lead or even a line with lead solder leading to their water main. Several over on Facebook community groups have noted they went through the testing process when the letters went out the year prior and found no lead. There are options for people concerned about their water and how to mitigate exposure to something like lead and other toxins.