(5/27) City Manager Jim Wieprecht asked the Council to consider a proposal from Arro Consulting Inc. to aid in the creation of an inventory of homes that may have lead piping. This proposal is in response to a mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR).
The City must have an inventory of commercial and residential properties that were built before building codes and city codes prohibited the use of lead in water lines. The inventory list does not pertain to the City’s main water lines, but does include the service lines that supply homes and are maintained by homeowners.
The City’s Public Works superintendent recently attended a conference where other municipalities, Emmitsburg and Thurmont, have utilized the engineering consultant company to quickly get the inventory list built by the deadline of October 16. The company will also prepare the electronic forms and submit them to the EPA.
Per the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act, lead water pipes were banned for use in drinking water and distribution. Maryland however, had prohibited the use of lead water pipes in 1972, a prohibition that was subsequently enacted in Frederick County building codes by the prohibition of lead water pipes in homes.
"Fortunately," said Wieprecht, "we don’t have a huge number of properties that existed when lead was allowed to be used. The pre-World War II era of the City is where we expect to see the majority of the inventory: Middle Street, George Street, East and West Baltimore, York and Frederick Street, which are the core of the historic part of the City."
Once the inventory list is established, the City will need to field verify the list. This is where property owners can aid the City by self-reporting what type of pipe comes through the wall of their home before their meter. The City will also need to check the "curb stop": a water service shutoff valve which is located near the curb between the water main and the home.
Wieprecht pointed out that when the Roberts Mill and Broad Street projects were being done, the City included a request to the contractor to create a record of the service line materials used since they were digging up the curb stops. "We actually have a head start on the LCRR."
"This is quite the undertaking," said Wieprecht, "The proposal by Arro will give us some expertise by someone who has been down this road before and makes sure we are submitting everything we need to."
