Exclusive: Estimated 100K water customers have risky lead lines

Mary Hollingsworth, the state's top regulator of drinking water, took special interest in at least one item from a recent survey of Indiana water systems and their lead service lines.

In Winchester, an estimated 45 percent of service lines — the spokes that deliver water from the main to customers — are made of lead or have lead components. Lead is a health risk, especially for babies, young children and pregnant mothers.

Winchester is Hollingsworth's hometown.

"I drank that water for years," said Hollingsworth, drinking water branch chief of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. "So I understand it's important to replace these lead lines."

But the extent to which federal government regulations should push water systems to replace lead lines, often 60 or more years old, is a matter of debate. That's not to mention the question of who's going to pay.

Water systems and state governments will have to come to grips with the issue in the wake of lead-poisoned water in Flint, Mich., and with new federal regulations on lead in drinking water expected next year. That's part of what motivated IDEM to do the survey on lead service lines now.

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IndyStar obtained responses to the survey — possibly unique among states — through a public records request. An analysis of 91 of the state's largest water systems showed an estimated 8 percent of customers had service lines made of lead or lead components. That's almost 100,000 customers, and the total in Indiana could be significantly higher, because IndyStar looked at only the larger water systems.

The highest percentage was more than half of the service lines at City of Decatur Water. A water system in Fort Wayne, Three Rivers Filtration Plant, reported 101,000 service connections — 28,000 of which contain lead.

Citizens Water, which serves Indianapolis, reported 23,000 lead service lines, 6 percent of its service connections.

But the severity of the immediate threat is in question.

Indiana American Water, which operates Winchester's water system, noted that the city's drinking water registered below the federal benchmark, or "action level," for lead in all five government-mandated tests since 2004.

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That benchmark, however, is not a cutoff for what's considered safe. The federal Environmental Protection Agency hasn't told states what amount of lead it considers an acute health risk. The "action level" — 15 parts per billion — is only a regulatory trigger for corrosion control and additional testing. The EPA and scientists say no level of lead is completely safe. The Food and Drug Administration's requirement for bottled water is a maximum of 5 parts per billion of lead.

Yanna Lambrinidou of Virginia Tech University has criticized federal lead-testing standards as lax and easily manipulated, giving a false sense of security. Regardless of federal test results, she wrote as part of an EPA advisory committee, people in homes with lead service lines are "at a daily risk of exposure to high levels of lead in their water."

Hollingsworth said IDEM has not yet analyzed its survey results. Reacting to IndyStar's analysis, including the 8 percent of service lines containing lead, she noted that anti-corrosion chemicals can mitigate the threat.

"Unless a lot of money is provided for utilities to replace the lead lines, we will not have 0 percent," Hollingsworth said. "I don't like 8 percent; I would like 0. But I don't know if that's attainable now."

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Complex, expensive problem

No regulators or providers IndyStar spoke with favored the status quo.

Joe Loughmiller, a spokesman for Indiana American Water, which operates 31 water systems in Indiana, said the company is "working toward establishing programs to implement full lead service line replacements." It also is participating in a national effort to "evaluate and address this issue on a broader scale."

Lead does not get into drinking water at a treatment plant or through water mains. Service lines can be a source. So can a building's plumbing.

Dan Considine, a spokesman for Citzens, said the company does not have "a comprehensive plan" to replace lead service lines. But he noted one of the things that makes it a complex issue.

"The removal of lead service lines often involves property issues that are not under Citizens' direct control," he said.

Part of the service line is owned by the water system and part is the responsibility of the property owner. Where that line is drawn varies. Generally, the water company's responsibility is the part that goes from the main to the property line. The rest is the property owner's responsibility. The IDEM survey included a question about the laws governing the issue in each community.

Adding to the complexity of the issue is cost. Replacing all lead service lines would be a massive and expensive undertaking. Many homeowners would not be willing to pay. And a partial replacement of service lines could make the problem worse by breaking lead loose from pipes.

The city of Milwaukee estimated that replacing its 70,000 lead pipes would cost $511 million to $756 million.

Madison, Wis., is the only major American utility to have replaced all of its lead service lines. The city started in 2001, and it took more than a decade. The city picked up half of the cost for homeowners up to $1,000. Lansing, Mich., is completing a similar effort.

Adding to the complexity is the poor or nonexistent record-keeping when lead service lines were installed decades ago. Water systems can't be sure how many lead service lines are in their system or where they're located. They're often discovered while fixing a break in the system.

The IDEM survey had a question asking about the source of water systems' information on lead service lines.

The answer to that question from Jasper Municipal Water, "No records — just past repairs," was typical of many systems.

Indiana American-Johnson County listed this as a source: "Retired employees."

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'A very slow process'

So how do people know if their drinking water is being delivered by a lead service line?

Boston has a map. Properties with lead service lines are shaded in yellow.

In Indiana and most other places, it isn't as easy as an Internet search, with customer privacy cited as the overriding consideration.

"We are able to inform customers about the service lines leading to their property if they request this information," Loughmiller of Indiana American said. "However, we do not disclose this on a wider scale as it is considered customer-sensitive information."

Considine of Citizens cited Indiana public records law, which gives utilities the discretion to decide whether to release utility customer addresses. The law does not, however, prohibit release of such information.

"We have always maintained that it is inappropriate to release any personal information or details about a customer’s utility account to the general public," Considine said, adding that individual customers can contact the company to get information about their specific service line.

IDEM also cited public records law as guiding its actions on public disclosure of lead service lines. But Hollingsworth said the department takes the issue seriously and will soon analyze the survey results, giving extra attention to the places with large percentages of lead service lines.

"I have to see where their lead levels are at (from federal tests)," she said. "If they do corrosion control to help stop the lead, and their results are way below the action level, then they're doing what they need to do. Eventually, they will start replacing those lines."

Hollingsworth said IDEM's role would be to lobby for federal money for replacement of lead service lines and to help speed up the process of gaining state and local permits to do the work.

Otherwise, the lead service lines will remain, maybe for more decades.

"When they break, they're going to replace them," Hollingsworth said of water systems. "When they need to have meters replaced, they'll replace those lead lines. And it's going to be a very slow process."

Call IndyStar reporter Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.