ST. PAUL, Minn. – 100% of Minnesota's municipal water systems have now completed a utility inventory lead Pipes that need to be replaced.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says it has been working with municipal water systems across the state to prevent exposure to lead from drinking water. MDH estimates that of the 1.5 million service lines in Minnesota, nearly 90,000 are made of lead and that this total could increase with approximately 280,000 service lines requiring additional inspection.
The Minnesota Legislature initiated a main service line replacement project in 2023 and has set a goal of replacing all of the state's main service lines by 2033. MDH says several water systems – including Duluth, St. Paul and Minneapolis – have already begun replacing their main service lines.
“There is no safe level of lead exposure, so removing lead from drinking water is a public health imperative,” says Dr. Brooke Cunningham, Minnesota Health Commissioner. “The effort to identify and remove lead service lines represents a significant step forward in our commitment to protecting the health and well-being of everyone in Minnesota.”
Utility lines connect the water pipe to the interior plumbing of a building. The completed inventory covers approximately 4.5 million Minnesotans. Residents who get their drinking water from a municipal water network can find out whether they have a main connection at the following address: Do you have a leading service line?an online mapping application developed by the University of Minnesota and MDH.
“Nationwide, Minnesota has one of the highest completion rates for service line inventories,” said Sandeep Burman, chief of MDH’s Division of Drinking Water Conservation. “Work has begun to replace lead service lines and we are well on our way to eliminating this source of lead exposure.”
Residents will be notified by their water system if they have a service line that is or may contain lead and the next steps the system will take to replace those lines or identify the material. Lead is a toxic metal that can cause serious health problems, especially in children and pregnant women.
Comments are closed.