Time is running out for Toledo property owners to get their lead pipes replaced for free.
City officials on Tuesday made a final plea to property owners to get their water lines inspected before year’s end.
Toledo City Council has allocated $10 million in federal relief money to the lead line replacement program. Those funds must be encumbered by 2024 and spent by 2026. The city is working to get the pipes inspected this year with the intention to issue contracts to replace the pipes next year, said Ed Moore, director of the Public Utilities Department.
So far, more than 77,000 private water lines have been inspected, but the push is on to have the final 40,000 lines inspected by the end of the year. To do that, city officials need access to homes because the most efficient way to complete the inspection calls for a city water department staff member to physically inspect the water line connection inside a home’s foundation wall, city officials have said.
Properties in North and East Toledo still need to inspect their water lines for lead.
“We need citizens to allow us to do the test necessary to determine whether the lines have lead or not. It’s really that simple,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said at a news conference Tuesday at the Zablocki Senior Center on Lagrange Street. “Please let us help eliminate the possibility of a lead hazard from your drinking water.”
Initially, it was believed that 3,000 lead lines would have to be replaced, but thus far 230 water lines have been identified as being lead pipes in need of replacement, Mr. Moore said.
Extra funds initially allocated to replace lead pipes could be reallocated to pay costs associated with repairing curb boxes, he said.
“We are fortunate that we haven’t found as many lead service lines as we thought we would have. However, we want to be certain and say that we have identified every lead service line in the city of Toledo,” Mr. Moore said.
Community groups like the Junction Coalition and the Movement are canvassing neighborhoods to assist the city in its efforts to contact property owners with information about the lead inspection program.
Property owners with a new water meter installed would have recorded the pipe material with the city, so a lead pipe inspection would not be required in those instances, Mr. Moore said.
Toledo councilman Cerssandra McPherson acknowledged the hesitation and mistrust that property owners have when it comes to letting a worker into their home, but she implored engagement in this program as a matter of health and safety.
“We need you to open up your doors and let us in to do the work,” Ms. McPherson said. “Let’s get the work done Toledo, we can do it. We have everything we need to get it done so please if you’re not sure call Engage Toledo. Let’s get it done Toledo.”
For information about lead line replacement, contact Engage Toledo online or by phone at 419-936-2020.
First Published November 14, 2023, 9:52 p.m.
