New federal regulations require all lead water pipes in the United States to be replaced within 10 years, but one Indy neighborhood and utility already has a head start.

The U.S. EPA has issued its final rule that requires drinking water systems to identify and replace lead pipes connecting water mains to homes within a decade, and requires lead testing. stricter drinking water standards and a lower threshold for lead contamination. The mandate was accompanied by $2.6 billion from the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America program.

Lead poisoning can cause lifelong adverse effects, many of which are cognitive, said Gabe Filippelli, director of the Indiana University Center for Urban Health. These potential dangers can, among other things, diminish a child’s ability to learn and do well in school. Exposure can also lead to more aggressive behavior in children and young adults.

“All of this leads to lower educational outcomes and therefore lower economic outcomes, and so on, to create a cascade,” Filippelli said.

Lead poisoning can occur in a variety of ways, including through soil contamination, which has hit Martindale-Brightwood, a historically black neighborhood in northwest Indy. A former American Lead facility that operated near Hillside Avenue in the neighborhood contaminated the community with lead. Federal agents removed lead-contaminated soil in 2017 and authorities continue to monitor the area.

While the EPA’s decision and billions in funding will help countless neighborhoods, Citizens Energy Group has already gotten a head start with its own project to remove and replace lead service lines. The utility is actively working in Martindale-Brightwood.

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Citizens are one step ahead

Citizens received funding for the replacement project through the Indiana Finance Authority’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. To date, the utility has received more than $20 million for the project, but estimated costs will reach more than $500 million to replace lead pipes providing water to more than 75,000 customers throughout Indy .

Service lines, usually owned by customers, run from the main house to the house. With IFA funding acquired by Citizen, residents do not have to pay for replacements.

Liz Gore, president of the Martindale-Brightwood Environmental Justice Collaborative, is no stranger to the dangers of lead. The group works to educate and raise awareness among neighbors about what’s happening on their land and try to provide them with a good quality of life, she said.

“(American lead) dumped its pollutants into the ground, which passed through our soil and caused problems not only with learning disabilities in our children, but also in families who have health problems,” said Gory.

Gore and the neighborhood group have also been working with citizens on the issue of lead pipes for some time.

“It’s very important to our community and to the neighborhood because these pipes have been there for years,” Gore said. “It’s a great thing that’s happening, and the neighborhood is very grateful to have been one of the first neighborhoods in Indianapolis to have the opportunity to get rid of our lead pipes.”

Indianapolis homes built before the 1950s likely still have lead service lines, and the majority of homes in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood fit the bill.

Citizens turned to TSW Utility Solutions to find and replace lead or galvanized pipes in neighborhoods with high-density polyethylene pipes. Crews dig a hole down to the water main under the road, find the service line and work to excavate the residence’s meter pit, said Garrett Jespersen, TSW construction manager.

Workers then use a type of winch to slowly remove the lead pipes, with the new pipes running right behind, Jespersen said.

The work typically takes about four and a half hours, and TSW crews attempt to complete at least two homes each day. Once crews move down the road, holes in the road are filled and lawns are re-seeded with grass.

To date, Citizens has replaced more than 2,000 lead service lines and is beginning to alert customers who may need replacement.

Inventory portal alerts Indy residents

Citizens Energy launched a campaign Oct. 17 as part of the EPA’s new rule to allow Indianapolis residents and business owners to see if their service lines are lead.

Homeowners can enter their address on an interactive map to see what type of pipes connect their home to the public water line. Efforts will also include individual notifications mailed to customers who may have lead lines.

New EPA rules require utility companies to send these notices to customers. Notifications are now being sent to homes and businesses where service lines potentially contain lead.

To view the online Citizens Portal, visit citizensenergygroup.com/lead

Karl Schneider is an environmental reporter for IndyStar. You can reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk

The IndyStar Environmental Reporting Project is made possible by the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: EPA wants lead pipes gone within 10 years. Indy Utility has a head start