Northwest Indiana communities affected by new lead pipe regulations

In 2016, when Carla Morgan was working for the city of East Chicago, the Environmental Protection Agency found that the West Calumet Housing Complex had the highest levels of lead ever discovered in a residential area.

The 346-unit public housing complex was built in 1972 on land formerly home to a 1906 lead smelter and adjacent to the USS Lead Superfund site.

Morgan is at the center of the fight for the city and against lead pollution, she said. Now, as a business consultant for the city of Gary, she wants residents to understand that new lead pipe regulations are important.

Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune

An old lead pipe on the ground where a construction crew is replacing it with a copper pipe in Chicago. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)

“I’m really glad that the Biden administration passed and enforced these rules,” said Morgan, corporate counsel for the city of Gary. “Lead is terrible for intellectual development. It lowers IQ and increases crime. Cancer, high blood pressure and all sorts of medical problems can be linked to lead exposure.”

On Oct. 8, the Biden-Harris administration issued a final rule requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years, according to the EPA.

The administration's decision came a decade after the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, a public health crisis that exposed the city's residents to dangerous levels of lead and outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease. The disease is a severe form of pneumonia and is transmitted by inhaling bacteria from water or soil. Symptoms include headache, muscle pain, fever and shortness of breath, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Crew members begin demolition of the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago in April 2018, which was contaminated with lead and arsenic from an existing USS Lead Superfund site.

Suzanne Tennant/Post-Tribune

Crew members begin demolition of the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago in April 2018, which was contaminated with lead and arsenic from an old smelting site on which it was built and an adjacent USS Lead Superfund site.

EPA first announced the proposed improvements to the lead and copper rules on November 23, 2023. The proposal calls for achieving 100 percent replacement of lead pipes within 10 years, locating old lead pipes and increasing protective measures to reduce exposure.

The EPA will also provide $2.6 billion to fund drinking water infrastructure.

Despite the EPA money, Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott has concerns about funding to replace the city's lead pipes.

McDermott estimates replacing the lead pipes will cost the city about $600 million. He said of the 25,000 homes in Hammond, about 17,000 have lead service lines.

According to the EPA, approximately 9.2 million lead service lines supply water to properties throughout the United States.

Two plastic swans help hold up a sign that says:

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune

Two plastic swans help hold up a sign reading “Don't play in the dirt or near the mulch” at a housing unit at the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago in 2016. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

“When I heard the president say that, I thought it was coming from a good place, but until they start talking about how we're going to pay for this, nothing's really going to happen,” McDermott said. “If you think about cities like Chicago and the magnitude of the problem and the plumbing in Chicago, I imagine it will cost about $10 billion.”

For McDermott, there is “no doubt” that funding to replace leading service lines will have an impact on taxpayers.

He also said the city will replace some lines this year, but if Hammond continues at this pace, it could take 30 years to complete the work.

Although McDermott doesn't have a main service line at his home, he said he wouldn't worry if he had one. Hammond properties get their water from Lake Michigan, which McDermott calls a stable water source.

In Flint, Michigan, utility lines experienced problems when they switched their water source from the Detroit system to the Flint River. The switch was corrosive and “eaten away corrosive membranes” in the supply lines, McDermott said.

“I am aware of the extent of the problem in the city and the county in general,” he said. “But until they start talking about how to pay for it, not much is going to happen.”

Gary's water service is privatized, so Morgan said Indiana American Water will let residents know if they have lead service lines. The company has not disclosed the number of residents affected, but Morgan estimates that most of the city's housing could be affected.

“It will be about 80% of our housing stock,” she said. “That’s the same number across the country. It’s not just Gary.”

Older homes are more likely to have leading service lines, Morgan said.

If residents learn that they have a lead service connection, they should request a lead testing kit from Indiana American Water. Morgan also suggests that people concerned about lead let the water run for a few minutes before drinking water in the morning.

“We’re gathering data and looking at how we can best help our residents,” Morgan said. “We will have more information for everyone once we receive status from Indiana American Water.”

Replacing a main service line costs between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on the length of the line, said Isaac Pellerin, vice president of marketing for 120Water.

The company provides digital water solutions and serves governments, entities, public water systems and engineering firms, according to its website.

“A lot of places we work with are trying to get data so they can apply for replacement funds and mitigate costs for residents,” Pellerin said.

120Water, a Zionsville-based company, works with 8,000 communities nationwide, including Munster and Valparaiso in northwest Indiana. The company tracks millions of service lines, Pellerin said, and about 2% are leads and 37% are unknown.

“If it's in one of those categories, that can be alarming news for someone,” Pellerin said. “But it also gives us the opportunity to say, 'Go to our website, fill out this form and give us permission to conduct an investigation.'”

The company has been helping communities inventory their lead pipes before the Oct. 16 deadline.

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, revisions to the lead and copper rules require municipalities to inventory lead service lines and report that information. 120Water worked with IDEM and the Indiana Finance Authority to finalize a utility inventory spreadsheet that communities can use for their inventory.

Further provisions of the lead and copper rule revisions will occur in 2025, according to IDEM. These provisions include increased lead testing in schools and child care facilities connected to public water systems, an annual notice to households connected to lead service lines, and a requirement to remove those lines.

Residents who have lead service lines will be informed of next steps by their community.

“In places like Münster, they send out postcards or letters to let people know what the process is like,” Pellerin said. “They will receive short-term remediation, such as a pitcher filter, until their home with a lead pipe can be replaced as a priority.”

Patricia Abbott, controller and interim city manager for Munster, said she is unsure how many lead pipes there are in the community. The City will notify residents who have unknown service line material within 30 days of the compliance deadline.

It's important for residents not to worry if they receive a letter, Abbott said.

“We are just one of the communities going through this,” she added. “Don't panic. We're working on it and figuring out what guidelines and requirements apply.”

Matt Zurbriggen, Valparaiso's deputy city utility manager, also said residents have nothing to worry about if they receive a letter.

Zurbriggen said Valparaiso has been testing leading service lines since the early 1980s, and scores have historically been low. The city has never had to inform residents about lead levels, and Valparaiso currently has about 500 lead service lines.

Zurbriggen predicts Valparaiso will need to contact about 600 residents for a main utility line to be replaced.

“It’s a very small percentage,” he said, “which I think is very good.”

Valparaiso residents had the option to report their lines themselves or schedule an appointment with city staff.

“We did our best to inform the public,” Zurbriggen said. “We had door knockers going around basically asking if they could come in, do the self-report and help us.”

Zurbriggen hoped residents would be more involved in the process, but he saw almost no complaints or problems. He hopes that more will take part in the next few years.

“We’ve always tried to be proactive when it comes to leadlines,” Zurbriggen said. “We have a history of removing all services whenever we can, and when there are infrastructure issues we want to remain proactive.”

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