Water District Energy Department Systems Supervisor Larry Pelzel said utility officials were able to inspect the water line hooks up about 4,800 homes in New Ulm in this years as part of the “Get out the Lead” program started in January.

Earlier this year, there was a push from the federal EPA and Minnesota Department of Health to identify all water service line and determine if and where lead pipes are being used.

This survey of water infrastructure is called “Get the lead out.” The program was part of nationwide effort to find and remove lead pipes. Last year the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health gave water utilities guidelines to identifying all the water service lines on the system.

In August, NUPU submitted all collected survey data to the Department of Health. All utilities had until October of this year to alert customers with lead or galvanized steel lines. Galvanized steel can corrode over time releasing harmful metals, including lead.

Pelzel said around 2,500 letters were submitted to New Ulm customers. The majority of customers receiving the letters did not have lead or galvanized steel lines on the private side the connection. However, New Ulm’s water lines are split between the city and homeowner. The service line going into the property and into the home belongs to the property owner. The waterline going into the street belongs to the city.

Pelzel said there were around 5,500 waterlines in New Ulm of an unknown status. Most of these unknown lines are on the city side. There were only 329 unknown lines on the homeowner side.

“We still don’t have it all the data because there are unknown service lines out there,” Pelzel said.

Part of the problem is city water lines are buried underground and without digging it is impossible to be certain of the material they were made from. The city has verified that 3,100 pipes are free from lead, but the majority are still unknown.

NUPU is continuing to investigate the unknown water lines using repair records, but the records have gaps.

“A lot of them are fairly vague,” Pelzel said. “They will give us footage of the service line put in but not the material it made of.”

It was not until the 1970s the general public became aware of the danger posed by lead products. In 1986 the federal government banned the use of leaded pipe and solder in new plumbing systems.

Pelzel said according to city records, everything since 1970 was required to be copper. Today it’s a combination of copper and plastic. In addition, utilities has a general rule to replace any lead pipe found when making repairs.

Pelzel said the ultimate goal of the survey is the 100% removal of all lead pipes from the system.

“To date we are waiting on guidance from the department of health and EPA as to developing a replacement plan,” he said.

Pelzel believes the plan will be to prioritize waterlines known to have lead for replacement and continue to investigate the unknown water lines. There is also potential for state and federal funding for the replacements.

NUPU already tests the water for lead and copper. The testing schedule will change based on the homes already confirmed to have lead pipes.

There are still 329 home waterlines that have not been inspected by utility officials. Pelzel said they can still call the utility department to make an appointment of inspection or call in and self report the materials in their service line. To schedule an appointment or to get more information, call 507-359-8279. The PUC website has an online form for individuals to submit information. The online form has space for a photo if individuals want to submit images of their waterlines.

Individuals with lead waterlines or those who suspect lead waterlines are recommended to run taps for a few minutes before using for drinking or cooking. There are also water filtering pitchers that will remove lead from water.