TROY, NY (WRGB) — More than four months after Troy officials first sounded the alarm about elevated lead levels in some homes’ tap water, work is now officially underway to replace pipes made of the toxic metal.
Mayor Patrick Madden announced Tuesday that workers had broken ground. One area where pipe is currently being replaced is Fourth Street at Adams Street.
Madden said that so far over 30 percent of the city’s utilities have been inventoried – meaning they have or have not been identified as lead pipes.
But the city needs to get that number to 100 percent because knowing where the pipes are will help with fundraising and the replacement process.
“By accurately mapping and documenting leading service lines, we can efficiently plan and execute the replacement process,” said Chris Wheland, Superintendent of the Department of Utilities for Troy.
The mayor says the city needs residents’ help identifying the utility line in their homes.
CBS6’s Briana Supardi took to the streets to ask the people of Troy if they checked their whistles.
“No I have not. I received the notice in the mail to review but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I was hoping the landlord would check, but yeah, I didn’t,” said Kayla Dannenbrink, a Troy resident.
And almost everyone Briana spoke to had the exact same answer – either that or they didn’t have a clue.
With a 30 percent inventory of Troy’s service lines, Collar City ranks first compared to Albany and Schenectady.
About 19 percent of Albany’s service lines are identified in the city, according to a website listing Albany’s major service lines.
- Unverified service lines 20,545
- Senior Service Lines 1,745
- Verified non-conductive service lines 2,943
In Schenectady, the commissioner of the city’s department of general services told CBS6 that they were in the process of developing a method to efficiently identify lead pipes across the city.
Troy officials encourage residents to take a photo of their service line in the basement and email it to [email protected]. Homeowners can also find steps to identify and report their findings at troyny.gov/lead. In addition, residents can contact the Troy Department of Utilities directly by calling 518-237-0319 and asking for a representative to visit their home.
Click here for simple tests to find out if your cordset is made of lead.
Click here to view Troy’s service line inventory.
Click here to view Albany’s service line inventory.
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