BOONE, Iowa—Property tenants served by lead service lines across the city will receive notifications in the next few days about steps they will need to take to meet a federal mandate to reduce the exposure to lead in their drinking water.
Boone Public Works Director Waylon Andrews said the Boone Water Works, like thousands of public and private utilities across the country, is sending out notices to affected customers about a federal mandate requiring the replacement of lead pipes to eliminate the health dangers that the metal poses. Local notices went out in today’s mail.
Andrews emphasized today that the City of Boone is also researching a lead service line replacement program to assist property owners.
There is no safe level of lead. Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or worsen existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these negative health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney, or nervous system problems.
More than 1,200 Iowa children under the age of six have detectable lead levels in the blood, according to an Iowa coalition of 10 communities, including Boone, addressing the issue in-state. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ordering utilities across the country to replace lead service lines to about nine million houses and businesses by 2037. The rule is intended to protect communities from the kind of lead exposure that sparked a health crisis for 100,000 residents in Flint, Michigan, a decade ago.
The local notice begins:
“Boone Water Works, and the City of Boone is focused on protecting the health of every household in our community. This notice contains important information about your drinking water. Please share this information with anyone who drinks and/or cooks using water at this property. In addition to people directly served at this property, this can include people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, businesses, as well as parents served by childcare at this property.
“Boone Water Works has determined that a portion of or the entire water pipe (called a service line) that connects your home, building, or other structure to the water main is made from lead. People living in homes with a lead service line may have an increased risk of exposure to lead from their drinking water.”
The notice to people who have confirmed lead service lines contains steps to reduce lead in their drinking water, including proper filter use, cleaning faucet aerators, using cold water, running water longer before drinking and having water tested.
He informed the City Council on Sept. 18 about the EPA action, noting there are an estimated 1,536 lead service lines in Boone’s water system. The city code requires “all costs and expenses incident to the installation, connection and maintenance of the water service pipe from the main to the building served shall be borne by the owner.”
Service line replacements can cost between $10,000 and $15,000,” according to a coalition estimate. Andrews said the coalition members are seeking policy solutions and state funding to address the issue. He noted the coalition is not seeking a rules change but is encouraging more federal funding and collaboration on plumbing codes to better address the issue.
Mayor Elijah Stines said he has contacted state Sen. Jesse Green, R-Boone, who “responded back immediately … and will try to get it on their committee agenda for the upcoming session.” Stines added, “Homeowners are going to need assistance because really this affects them directly. So let (elected officials) know that we need some help getting our pipes safe for our citizens. It’d be a big lift for a lot of places but we’re not alone, so if we work together, we can get some help.”
Council member Terry Moorman said the EPA rules and its costs were discussed when area officials and business leaders visited Washington, D.C., during the summer. “It was a talking point with both senators,” he said.
About 330,000 Iowans will receive notices similar to the one that some Boone residents will receive. The Des Moines Water Works is sending notices to about 55,400 homeowners, informing more than 8,000 that their service lines are lead, CEO Ted Corrigan told The Des Moines Register. The utility will tell the remaining 47,300 customers that it is unsure what their service lines are made of.
Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 to allocate funds for lead pipe replacement. However, that measure only provided Iowa with $164 million in partially forgivable five-year loans while total replacement costs will be in the range of $1 billion.
“We have to first figure out how big the problem is,” Troy DeJoode, executive director of the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, told the Register. “Then we have to figure out how it gets paid for and by whom.”
(contributed press release, City of Boone)
