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January 12, 2023 <br /> TO: Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe& Decatur City Council Members <br /> FROM: Scot Wrighton, City Manager <br /> RE: Proposed City Council Policy on Replacing Privately Owned Lead Water Services <br /> It is recommended that the City Council consider and adopt a new policy concerning the <br /> replacement of privately owned lead water service lines. <br /> The USEPA has mandated that local government-owned public water distribution systems <br /> develop comprehensive plans for the replacement of privately owned lead water service lines. <br /> State and Federal mandates so far do not provide any funding to assist cities in the replacement <br /> of privately owned lead water services, and neither the State or Federal government has sought <br /> to deal with a potentially larger lead-poisoning threat concerning lead pipes inside privately <br /> owned structures. <br /> The city of Decatur has no all-lead water service lines. But there are numerous private laterals <br /> identified as rigid galvanized steel pipes, and many of these are connected at the main by a <br /> pliable lead "gooseneck."The proposed policy is not a response to government mandate; <br /> developing a plan complies with the mandate. Instead, it is a proactive strategy to assist <br /> effected property owners—the vast majority of whom are located in or near the city's urban <br /> core, because lead water service lines were installed prior to 1940. <br /> The proposed policy uses a cost-sharing approach because the laterals are privately owned. In <br /> addition to this policy, city staff will continue to replace privately owned lead service water <br /> services in conjunction with future road and water distribution system infrastructure projects. <br />