Minnesota to spend $240 million to remove lead pipes across the state

Minnesota will spend $240 million over the next decade to identify, remove and replace more than 100,000 lead service lines across the state, the largest single investment ever made to try to eradicate the toxin from the state's drinking water supply.

The proposal, signed into law by DFL Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday, will help fund a statewide surveillance program to identify homes and buildings that might be connected to a lead service line, while also offering grants through the state's Public Facilities Authority to help cover the costs to replace them.

"Why has this taken so long, and why are there still so many in the ground?" Walz said Tuesday outside the St. Paul Regional Water Services office. "It's record keeping. It's about understanding and doing the study necessary to know where these things are at."

It's the most sweeping step the state has taken to try to limit Minnesotans' exposure to lead, which can lead to brain and nervous system damage. Exposure to lead is dangerous at any level, according to national health organizations, but children are particularly at risk for long-term effects.

"We know that when a person swallows or breathes in lead particles, your body stores that. It stays there in your bones, in your blood, in your tissues, and that causes lasting damages," said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, the sponsor of the bill.

The water crisis in Flint, Mich., raised awareness nationally about the danger of lead in drinking water, especially for children. In 2017, Minnesota legislators asked the state Department of Health to study the scope of the problem here, which pointed to lead service lines as one of two significant sources of lead leaching into drinking water.

But many states have struggled to replace their own lead service lines because of the time and cost it takes to locate and dig out the old lines for replacement. Until now, local governments and homeowners had to shoulder the burden of removing lead lines themselves, which can cost around $10,000 per project.

A majority of the funds would be used for removing privately owned portions of lead drinking water service lines, but municipalities can also get grants to replace publicly owned portions of lead service lines.

Residents in some larger cities, such as St. Paul, can go directly to their local water supplier and apply to have them come and replace their lead service line. In some smaller communities with fewer lead service lines, homeowners can work directly with a contractor and seek reimbursement for the work.

The total estimated cost to replace lead service lines across the state is closer to $800 million. By passing the funding now, lawmakers said the state can unlock $43 million in federal infrastructure funding each year for the next several years to help cover the costs.

While there's lead in service lines in communities across the state, neighborhoods with more low-income residents and an older housing stock tend to have more.

"We could be standing in Pipestone, International Falls, Red Wing, Duluth, Royalton, you name it," said Bradley Peterson, executive director of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. "These are all communities who have raised their hands and said, 'We have a problem with lead pipes, and we are looking for solutions.'"