Council holds special lead lines meeting
By Justin Tiemeyer - Contributing Writer
17 Jan. 2025
Lowell’s city council met on Monday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. for a special meeting concerning lead lines in the city’s water system. The work session, scheduled as a follow-up to a Nov. 4, 2024 discussion, was recommended by Assistant City Manager, Rich LaBombard, in order to dive deeper into the issue.
When Lowell’s Utilities Supervisor, Ralph Brecken, submitted the city’s complete distribution service line material inventory (CDSMI) to the state in October, the city had identified nine lead lines, 69 galvanized, 551 non-lead, and 545 unknown. As of the latest update, this has changed to nine lead, 81 galvanized, 908 non-lead, and 394 unknown.
The change is largely the result of Brecken’s research efforts, as the recent push to identify the composition of the water lines has become a full-time job for the utilities supervisor.
“The federal government has really upped the lead timeline when they want to get all the lead out of the water system,” Brecken said. “It’s a very good thing for public health, but it does put quite a burden on us to get that done in a very short amount of time.”
Not only do the regulations limit Brecken’s research options, but they require him to analyze the line at four different places: (1) the water main, (2) 18 inches before the curb stop box, (3) 18 inches after the curb stop box, and (4) inside the home.
Residents who respond to the city’s letter, by identifying what the water line looks like leading into their house, can save the city $500 or more in excavation fees to identify the line. Replacement of lead and galvanized lines, on the other hand, may cost anywhere from $3500 to $8000 per line, and that includes parts and labor.
Council members echoed the same sentiment, namely that they are already aware that these costs will only go up every year.
“I think eventually you’re going to have to be budgeting more than $100,000 annually,” City Manager, Mike Burns explained. “You’re probably going to be budgeting $200,000 annually.”
The contractors needed to do this type of work are in high demand because these are not just requirements for the City of Lowell; they are requirements for every municipality across the nation.
Council member, Marty Chambers, requested that Brecken and LaBombard consider the cost to do the work by purchasing a mini excavator and doing the work in-house. The council debated the pros and cons, noting that an in-house team would require salary, insurance, and retirement benefits, and it is unclear what the city would do with them following the conclusion of the lead-line project.
Though mention of lead and galvanized lines could lead to fright, Burns noted that the city puts phosphates into the system to coat the lines and prevent lead from sloughing off into the water. LaBombard added that the new regulations have changed the maximum safe lead content from fifteen parts per million to ten. “Luckily, we’re at zero,” LaBombard said.
An additional page has been added to the City of Lowell’s homepage, lowellmi.gov, for the water service line investigation. It is accessible from the main page by clicking on the three bars in the upper right corner and selecting Lead & Copper. On that site is a helpful diagram explaining how the water line works, a list of frequently asked questions, and an inventory of water service line material that Brecken updates daily. Additionally, Brecken’s database, with all up-to-date water service line information, is available to the public and can be printed at City Hall on request.
