It takes a community working together to tackle the legacy of customer-owned lead service lines. 

That was the message Denver Water shared in a White House webinar Oct. 8, shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule aimed at removing lead service lines from the nation’s drinking water infrastructure. 

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“As we near the five-year mark on Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program, we’ve replaced more than 28,000 customer-owned lead service lines — the small pipe that brings water into the home from the main in the street — at no direct cost to customers,” Alexis Woodrow, the manager for the Lead Reduction Program, said on the webinar. 

“But we haven’t done it alone. We’ve collaborated with vendors, consultants, community members, customers, state and federal officials. And, based on our experience, utilities will need the help of their communities and local, state and federal governments to achieve the goal,” she said. 

“The goal is the right thing to do and — with help — we can all achieve it together.” 

The water Denver Water provides to homes and businesses is lead-free, but lead can get into water as it moves through lead-containing household fixtures, plumbing and water service lines. 

Under the new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements announced Oct. 8, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency is requiring utilities identify and replace lead service lines within 10 years, work Denver Water has been doing for years. The EPA also announced the availability of $2.6 billion in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will be available to support the work that goes into finding and replacing lead service lines. 

Learn what to expect when Denver Water replaces lead service lines: 

Denver Water received $76 million in federal funding in 2022, money that allowed the utility to accelerate its replacement work in underserved communities.

To date, the utility has replaced 4,500 customer-owned lead service lines using federal funding, with another 1,300 lines scheduled for replacement, Woodrow said. 

EPA estimates that up to 9 million homes nationwide are served by old lead pipes. 

Denver Water’s system has about 312,000 service lines.

When the Lead Reduction Program began in 2020, Denver Water estimated the number of lead service lines in its service area to be between 64,000 to 84,000. Now, that number is estimated to be closer to the 60,000 to 64,000 range. 

Meet the people working on Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program. 

So far, more than 28,000 lead service lines already have been replaced and about 5,000 lines are scheduled for replacement in 2025.

During the webinar, Mae Wu, the deputy assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Water, noted the new rule lowers the threshold for utilities to take action to reduce the risk of lead in drinking water. The rule is expected to take effect in 2027.

Currently, if 10% of the water samples from homes known to have lead service lines contained lead at 15 parts per billion or more, a utility had to inform customers and take action to reduce lead levels. The new rule will lower the “action level” to 10 parts per billion. 

“This final rule will protect millions of people across the country from lead in drinking water,” Wu said. 

Shereyl Snider, a resident and volunteer at the East Trenton Collaborative in East Trenton, New Jersey, talked about how children in her neighborhood have been affected by lead in drinking water. 

“I’m proud and pleased that the Biden-Harris Administration is finally putting the lead to bed,” Snider said. “This announcement is a giant leap to getting the lead out across America and a beacon of hope for communities like mine.”

And Richard Diaz, the Midwest regional field manager for water infrastructure at the BlueGreen Alliance, which works with labor unions and environmental groups, noted that the work involved in finding and replacing the millions of lead service lines across the country will create jobs. 

“Because of this rule, cities all over the country will act with greater sense of urgency and be proactive in planning to replace these lead pipes,” Diaz said. 

“This is a huge step in protecting American families for generations to come.”