Cold weather was not slowing down a continuing project to replace sections of lead pipes in Elyria’s city water system.
On Jan. 4, crews moved onto Broad Street to dig up and change any lead service lines that carry fresh water from city mains into homes.
The work there was part of a process that started last year and will continue as needed.
Elyria city water does not have dangerous levels of lead in it, said Samuel F. Jacob, water team leader.
However, Mayor Frank Whitfield, Safety-Service Director Kevin Brubaker, the city administration and Water Distribution Department want to be proactive in taking out lead pipes before it is required by law, Jacob said.
The city has paid for the work with forgivable loans through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water Assistance Fund.
In February 2021, the city received notice of $922,062 of principal loan forgiveness from the Ohio EPA to pay for the work.
That covered about 250 houses and another $1 million forgivable loan is paying for Phase 2 with another 250 or so homes, Jacob said.
Speer Bros. Inc. of Sandusky was the low bidder for both phases.
Workers from Speer Bros. Inc. of Sandusky dig up and replace lead water service lines running between Elyria’s water main under Broad Street and homes on that road on Jan. 4, 2022. The city has scored almost $2 million in forgivable loans to pay for the work, a proactive step for safe drinking water, said Samuel F. Jacob, water team leader under Mayor Frank Whitefield. (Richard Payerchin — The Morning Journal)
Workers dig up the street to examine the water service lines that run from the water main pipe to the shut off boxes generally located in the tree lawns in front of houses, Jacob said.
That section is publicly owned, and if it is lead, the line is cut out and replaced with copper pipe.
If there is lead pipe from the shut off valve to the house, workers also will replace that at no cost to the property owners.
The cost per replacement varies depending on the distance between the water main and the house, along with landscaping and street restoration when the pipes are replaced, Jacob said.
To keep costs down for customers, the city of Elyria will continue seeking grant money or forgivable loans for the lead service lines and other projects, he said.
A worker from Speer Bros. Inc. of Sandusky creates a new tap to replace a lead water service line running between Elyria’s water main under Broad Street and a home on that road on Jan. 4, 2022. The city has scored almost $2 million in forgivable loans to pay for the work, a proactive step for safe drinking water, said Samuel F. Jacob, water team leader under Mayor Frank Whitefield. (Richard Payerchin — The Morning Journal)
If the forgivable loans are no longer available for the lead service lines, the city will continue the replacement project as service to customers, he said.
Jacob emphasized the city’s water is safe.
The Elyria Water Pumping Plant is on the Lake Erie shoreline at 3628 West Erie Ave. in Lorain, and the treatment process adds phosphate that coats the pipes, so treated water in the pipes does not touch lead inside.
The city leaders try to time projects so the underground work is completed before road resurfacing projects, to avoid cutting and digging through new pavement, Jacob said.
Broad Street was selected as a location that will undergo city improvements in the next few years.
Work can take place in cold weather but the contractor will stop if there is heavy snowfall, Jacob said
Elyria serves more than 110,000 people as the primary water provider for North Ridgeville, Amherst, Northern Ohio Rural Water and the surrounding townships.
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