About 2,000 Hendersonians should expect to receive—if they haven’t already—a letter from Henderson Water Utility informing them that their galvanized steel water service line needs to be replaced.
Letters from HWU were sent out at the beginning of the month informing residents whose home has a galvanized steel water service line that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements will cause the local water utility to replace those lines.
It’s all a part of the EPA’s improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule, which were issued by the Biden Administration on Oct. 8. The rule requires all drinking water systems across the country to replace lead pipes within 10 years. The rule also requires galvanized steel water service lines to be replaced.
According to the HWU letter, even though the galvanized steel water service lines are not made of lead, corroded galvanized pipe over time can act as a “collector” for lead released upstream.
HWU General Manager Bart Boles said work to replace the galvanized steel lines will begin after July 1.
He said the EPA has deemed that the utility has two years to create a plan of action and ten years after that to implement the plan. He said he’d like to do as many as possible each year but expects a yearly total of 200-500 until complete.
He said the price estimate for each replacement is $2,500-$3,000, putting the total cost of the project at $6 million at least.
Boles said the plan to pay for the replacement lines is still being discussed. He said the HWU 2025-26 Fiscal Year budget will include money to start replacing lines, and budgeted funding of $300,000-$500,000 per year could allow the utility to potentially pay for it from future budgets.
Water service lines extend from the water main to a residence’s plumbing. In the middle of that line is a water meter and meter box. According to the HWU letter, the portion of the line now mandated for replacement is the “public side” of the line, meaning the portion from the water main to the water meter and meter box.
The letter states that if a resident wants to replace the private side of the line—from the water meter and meter box to the residence’s plumbing—then the owner should call a plumber. Boles, however, said in a Monday interview that he expects the EPA will mandate in the future that water systems replace the whole length of galvanized steel water service lines.
A previous mandate from the EPA required utilities to create an inventory of all the water service lines in their jurisdiction. Boles said HWU completed that in September.
Kevin Roberts, HWU director of operations, said contracted crews began checking the approximately 12,000 water service connections in town about 1 ½ years ago, and their work resulted in a list of about 2,000 residences with galvanized steel water service lines. He expects that number may decrease a bit—perhaps 2%—as HWU crews double-check the work.
Both Boles and Roberts said they are not aware of any lead lines in the city.
Both also said that the chance of lead in the local water supply is slim. For one, the use of lead pipes in the water system historically didn’t occur much, Roberts said.
“I don’t know that lead was used a lot around here,” he said.
Second, the galvanized steel lines in Henderson don’t collect lead because HWU adds phosphates to the drinking water, creating a sort of coating on the pipes that won’t allow lead to stick to it, Roberts said.
And there is no lead in the water released by the plant, he said.
Of the galvanized lines, Boles said most were in the East End—in the area bound by Atkinson to Green streets and Washington Street to Sand Lane. But the galvanized steel water service lines were also found in other neighborhoods, particularly with older homes, he said.
Boles said water mains in the city are either PVC or ductile iron. He said he doesn’t know of any that are lead.
If Henderson residents would like to test their tap water, Boles said they can call HWU to request a kit. The number is 270-826-2421.
To learn more about the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, go to Lead and Copper Rule Improvements | US EPA.
