Lead service lines have been one of the most actively discussed pain points in recent years. Private lead lines can represent a real risk to homeowners and – whether fair or not – the reputations of utilities and municipalities. A good summary of the issue is available in the AWWA Journal – here: http://www.awwa.org/publications/journal-awwa/abstract/articleid/57880483.aspx
States are starting to take action to enforce replacement under certain circumstances – this example is in Massachusetts: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/water/drinking/lead-service-line-replacement-requirements.html
Ordinarily the private section is replaced at the homeowner expense – but instances of municipality – funded replacement in certain areas are appearing too. This one is very recently in the news headlines in Pueblo, Colorado: http://www.chieftain.com/news/pueblo/5557176-120/lead-service-lines-pueblo.
Pueblo introduced their own mandatory service line repair program to all residential customers in May 2015: details here http://www.pueblowater.org/service-line-replacement-program-faq.html
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Nicks View – Although mandatory programs will not be a fit in most circumstances, there is a potential route for municipalities and utilities to also consider optional warranty programs as a method of raising surplus funds that can be deployed to support a subsidized rolling process of private lead service line replacement. This will only be applicable in certain situations and will take time, but for some could be a win-win for everyone involved.
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