Norwich ― In the 1980s, Norwich Public Utilities replaced all of the lead water pipes in their water distribution system under the city’s streets, but this work left untouched hundreds of older, privately owned water pipes that run off the curb in residential and commercial properties.
Beginning in spring 2023, the city utility will begin work on an estimated five-year $5.65 million project to replace the estimated 800 private water lines already identified. An examination of the lines, to be conducted in early 2023, will likely identify several hundred more such lines in need of replacement, NPU officials said.
Last week, the State Bond Commission approved a $600,000 state grant through the State Department of Public Health’s Drinking Water Revolving Fund to complete the project by replacing the first 70 lead pipes running from curbs in residential and commercial buildings to get going.
Norwich City Council in November approved a $350.00 water revenue deposit to be used for planning, design and study of water mains to identify top priority sites for replacement. NPU general manager Chris LaRose said the money will be paid for through a combination of government grants and loans paid through customers’ water rates.
Over the next two months, the NPU will identify the first 70 lines to be replaced with government grants, complete surveys of the water lines, and tender for the construction project.
Outreach to property owners will be critical, NPU spokesman Chris Riley said, as construction schedules need to be coordinated, including access to private property and into the basements of homes where the lines will be replaced.
Property owners will be contacted by mail and phone, and public information meetings with owners are planned for the spring, Riley said.
According to LaRose, building codes banned lead water pipes in the early 1970s, but hundreds of old pipes remain in the city’s older residential and commercial buildings. The old lines, either with lead pipes or lead-soldered seams, are removed and new pipes are laid in the ground.
NPU officials and Senator Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chair of the General Assembly Appropriations Committee, helped secure the $600,000 grant to replace the first 70 privately owned water lines. She and representatives of the NPU stressed the importance of the project for public health and safety.
“Funding approved by the State Bond Commission will be very helpful when the NPU embarks on a critically important project,” Osten said in a press release announcing the Bond Commission’s approval. “A head start in modernizing Norwich’s water infrastructure will be of public health and safety benefits for generations to come.”
According to information on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, prolonged exposure to lead can cause several health risks, including abdominal pain, constipation, depression, distraction or forgetfulness, irritability, or nausea.
Exposure to high levels of lead can cause anemia, weakness, and kidney and brain damage, according to the CDC. Symptoms can go unnoticed if they appear slowly over time. Pregnant women who are exposed to lead can pass the pollutant, which can damage the developing nervous system, to their unborn children, the CDC alert says.
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