A private lead water service replacement program has been drafted by city staff, with the operations committee of city council slated to discuss the proposal on Aug. 14.
The program would provide residential property owners with grants of up to $3,000, and interest-free loans of up to $10,000, to replace private-side lead water service lines.
The highest-risk residential properties would also be provided National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 53 certified water filters to remove lead until the lead lines can be replaced.
The program would be applied to the replacement of private-side lead water pipes, stretching into each property from the city property line.
Although the city automatically replaces whatever lead pipes they discover on municipal property with safer material, and alerts the property owner of such issues on the private side, it’s up to the property towner to take action on the private side, which they don’t always do.
“The replacement cost of a private water service may be a financial barrier for homeowners,” according to city administration’s Aug. 14 report. “The goal of the Private Lead Water Service Replacement program is to help mitigate this cost of replacing a private lead water service.”
Lead was considered an acceptable material in pipes until 1975, and was used in solder until 1986, according to a report by Health Canada.
“There is no safe level for lead in drinking water,” according to the city’s latest report, which is a point also shared by the World Health Organization.
“The most significant source of lead from municipal drinking water sources is from lead water service lines.”
Within Greater Sudbury’s distribution system, there is “only a small fraction” of lead water services, according to the report, which notes, “continuous efforts are being completed to have an inventory list of known or predicted lead services within the city.”
While lead levels within the city’s water supply are reportedly “well below” provincial regulatory limits and Health Canada guidelines, it can still dissolve into the water on the private side of infrastructure.
The city estimates the cost of replacing a private water service line to be between $10,000 and $13,000.
A private lead water services program was approved during 2022 budget deliberations, and was originally expected to be in place by September 2022.
Earlier this year, Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti noted there’d been a change in staff and that more time would be needed for staff to present on the subject.
During their upcoming Aug. 14 meeting, the operations committee of city council will make a decision on whether to adopt the private lead water service replacement program as described. Afterward, it would need to be ratified by city council as a whole before coming into play.
If ratified, the Aug. 14 municipal report notes that a web page would be set up with applicable information, information sessions would be set up at local libraries and staff at the city’s 311 customer service line would be provided the information to answer residents’ questions.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
