City to seek funding for pipe replacement project | Government and Politics

ELKO DAILY

ELKO – The City of Elko is taking its first steps to comply with the federal Revised Lead and Copper Rule that requires the replacement of plumbing and water service lines containing lead parts for public water systems.

The City Council unanimously voted Feb. 22 to apply for placement on a priority list for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Drinking Water and Clean Water Revolving Funds.

City Utilities Director Dale Johnson said that with rules revised in December, the City would need to replace entire service lines with lead taps and joints on copper piping.

“We have an 18-inch main [line] that runs from the Second Street tanks to Court Street and from Southside tank to Idaho Street,” Johnson explained. “That is all lead joint.”

According to the rule, galvanized pipes connected to lead service lines downstream of those pipes must also be replaced as part of the project.

Johnson said his department is also looking at coating the interior of the pipes to comply with the rule. However, customers would be required to comply as well, he added. “We would have to notify the customer annually that they would have to change their piping” but they will not be forced to make any replacements.

People are also reading…

In the next couple of years, a third-party company will notify customers regarding the project. Johnson said one mailer would ask residents if the home had lead, copper or galvanized piping.

The Lead and Copper Rule affects all public water systems nationwide, Johnson explained. He said his department has to complete an inventory of City and customer piping; identify schools, daycare and other childcare facilities; and put together a list of projects with the data gathered by staff.

According to NDEP’s website, “much of Nevada’s water contains naturally occurring minerals that makes it hard water; which combats corrosion of piping materials.”

However, pipes and plumbing materials made of older leaded solder and older plumbing fixtures made of chrome or brass contain lead and “can leach some of the metal out of the plumbing into the drinking water.”

“The intent of Lead and Copper Rule is to protect public health primarily by reducing water corrosivity,” NDEP continues.

The agency said lead service lines were more likely to exist in buildings before World War II. In 1989, the state banned lead solder in plumbing systems with a higher lead content than 0.2%.

Until the inventory is complete, Johnson said it is not known how much the overall project could cost but the City’s infrastructure does not seem to include any lead service lines.

“We know from previous repairs throughout town where we found lead taps to our mains and always removed them. We never found a lead service line, so that’s encouraging,” he said. “We’re ahead of the game on some of it. There are other parts where the galvanized [replacement] blindsided everybody.”

Another benefit is that Elko’s pH levels do not change due to its groundwater source. “We don’t have a problem right now with lead leaching into the water because our pH is constant and doesn’t fluctuate very much. Our pH is high enough that it doesn’t leach out of the pipes and into the water,” Johnson said.

According to the City, the Office of Financial Assistance is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to provide funds to benefit water or wastewater systems for infrastructure needs.

The State Revolving Fund programs will administer these funds based on a priority list issued by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

The City Council’s approval to apply for the list allows the City Water and Sewer Departments to seek funding to offset the costs to comply with the Rule. It also includes rehabilitating tanks and wells and wastewater-related projects where there is a need for improved infrastructure within the city.

“We’re asking to be on the priority list for different projects,” Johnson said. “We don’t have a project list yet, but the Lead and Copper Rules were just revised in December last year that we’ve got to contend with now.”

The funding could also include geothermal lines, he added.

Johnson said he wasn’t sure when the galvanized pipes were installed throughout the City.

The city has kept up with tank maintenance and is planning to inspect a tank for the status of its interior coating, he said. “We did recoat an entire tank last year that cost us almost $562,000. It’s not cheap.”

City Councilman Giovanni Puccinelli said his meeting with Johnson’s department over its budget was “eye-opening” as he learned what the project could entail.

“We’ve already had lead-free [supplies] hit with plumbing stuff, but now it’s taken it to a whole new level,” Puccinelli said.

“It sounds like an expensive proposition,” said Mayor Reece Keener. “I think we definitely need to look at putting together a priority list and see if we can attract any funding with it.”

You might also like

Comments are closed.