HPU ahead of curve with aggressive response to lead service lines

HIBBING — Lead pipes in public water systems are common throughout Minnesota and the country.

So, Hibbing Public Utilities’ recent discovery of elevated lead in some samples isn't all that unique.

But HPU’s response is.

Minnesota water providers are required to sample inside 30 homes each year. In Hibbing, six had lead levels above what the Environmental Protection Agency calls the Lead Action Level.

Hibbing Public Utilities could have simply sent out a notice about the lead levels, done a bit of education and addressed the issue at the homes it knew had too much lead.

But instead, it chose to be aggressive. The Minnesota Department of Health has a goal to replace all lead service lines by 2033.

“Our general manager is confident we can do ours in two to three years,” said Paul Plombon, energy and operations manager for HPU.

New lead reduction measures

There is no safe level of lead. Children under 6 and pregnant women are the most at risk of negative effects from lead exposure, which can include development and hearing problems in children and damage to the brain, kidneys and nervous system.

"We know that lead can get to us by drinking or eating something or breathing lead in. Any way lead gets into our body is how the hazard comes about,” said Anna Schliep, lead and drinking water coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health.

“... We also know that the biggest exposure to lead is still from lead paint and lead dust, but drinking water is something that lots of people use. So, when we minimize exposure in drinking water, we can help minimize exposure for lots of people.”

Lead plumbing is a more pervasive issue in the Midwest, Schliep said, because lead works well in extreme cold. Plombon theorized the Iron Range might have more lead pipes as well, because they could stand up to regular blasts from nearby mines.

HPU's elevated lead samples came back in October. Before the ground froze, workers dug about 500 potholes, meaning they blasted down to look at water lines on both the utility side and the customer side.

Contributed / Hibbing Public Utilities

Contributed / Hibbing Public Utilities

“If you're not familiar with it, there's a water line coming from the house all the way out to the curb stop, which is the shutoff for the house,” Plombon explained. “And then there's usually a smaller section depending on where the water main is that is utility owned. And that goes out to the main.”

Before that, HPU knew about eight or nine lead lines. The potholing upped that count to about 90.

Service lines that deliver water to customers’ homes are the main way that lead gets into water in Minnesota, Schliep said.

Lead solder and fixtures are big sources, too. That means even homes with well water can still have lead, especially those built before lead plumbing was banned in 1986.

Spliech said there's been a lot of work to lower lead exposure since concern started growing in the ‘70s.

“What we consider a high blood lead exposure now is nowhere near what a high lead exposure would have been in the ‘80s,” she said. “We went from being concerned about levels at 50 micrograms per deciliter in blood, now we're concerned at levels of five.”

For a long time, the focus was on corrosion control to minimize lead in water. In 2021, the EPA updated its lead and copper rules, adding requirements to identify and replace lead service lines.

HPU is also taking additional steps to minimize corrosion. Plombon said they’ll start adding food-grade orthophosphate to the water this fall to make it less corrosive.

“That way the lead and the copper that’s in a lot of the lines won’t easily dissolve in the water and get into people’s systems,” he said.

He said a lot of communities already use this treatment. One banana has the same amount of phosphate as 104 bottles of water treated with orthophosphate.

Customers come first

Most Minnesota water systems, including Hibbing, are still working to identify lead service lines.

That’s evident when you look at MDH’s online map of lead service line inventories. There, you can check each water system to see how many lines are lead, how many are not lead and how many are still unknown.

Hibbing has about 6,000 service lines. About one-third are still unknown.

Plombon said customers are often hesitant to let people into their homes, presenting a challenge to identify lines. But HPU has been more aggressive about that, too. In one week, they looked at some 150 lines.

It's a slow process, but getting inside homes to help identify those lines is a big focus this winter, while HPU can’t do any digging. The goal is to finish identifying by March.

“This customer side, being able to complete this is a really high priority because that will help inform the rest of our potholing projects,” said Eliot Dixon, HPU’s engagement specialist. “They feed into each other to make sure that we're making the best decisions we can, putting the funding in the most effective place possible for these upcoming replacement projects as well.”

The cost of this work is prohibitive for many communities. It costs thousands of dollars to replace a home’s service lines. In many cases, those lines are customer-owned, meaning the burden of replacement technically falls on the homeowner.

“But Hibbing is going to say, if you have lead on your side, we’re going to replace it,” Plombon said. “And we will seek Minnesota Department of Health funding to help us mitigate that cost.”

That’s part of the reason behind Hibbing’s aggressive approach. More data to back up their need for additional money means they could get more from MDH to help pay for replacements.

Contributed

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Hibbing Public Utilities

Plombon pointed to Duluth as an example. He said in three years, the city got $60 million from the state and federal government, because it invested a lot of its own money in the beginning.

It’s too soon to say how much lead replacement will cost Hibbing Public Utilities, but Plombon said each block could cost $1 million if they have to replace the whole water main. At this time, there won’t be an increase for the ratepayers.

HPU has eight blocks identified that will need a whole water main and service line replacement, starting this summer.

If you have questions about lead in your city, contact your water provider. Each water system publishes an annual Consumer Confidence Report with more information about water quality.

In Hibbing, Plombon said HPU has lead testing kits that they can send in for customers, though HPU does not cover the cost. If there is an identified lead line, then the cost of a sample is covered by HPU, and HPU will provide filters to help reduce lead.

“We’ve got a goal to get people engaged and supportive of these projects to the point of, we at HPU can do our job to advocate for Hibbing, to advocate for our needs,” Dixon said. “But it's much more impactful to have our community behind us when we are doing that.”