WBAL TV, Baltimore-area residents will be asked to check 229K+ water pipes for lead
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works needs to inspect more than 275,000 public and private water pipes to see if they contain lead, according to a new map and data obtained by 11 News Investigates.
DPW will inventory the 45,796 public pipes made with unknown materials, but to help inspect 229,616 pipes at private homes, DPW plans to ask Baltimore City and Baltimore County residents to complete a survey and test their own pipes.
Paul Sayan, the acting bureau head of the Bureau of Water and Wastewater at Baltimore City's DPW, explained the massive undertaking -- a city and county joint effort dubbed the "Baltimore Service Line Partnership" -- in an exclusive interview with 11 News Investigates.
Lee Currey, the director of the Maryland Department of the Environment's Water and Science Administration, said the ultimate goal is to identify and replace all lead water pipes statewide.
Every water utility across Maryland is currently working to figure out how many of their customers' water pipes contain lead.
If the Environmental Protection Agency is right, the utilities could be facing a big problem. A first-of-its-kind report from the EPA in April found Maryland has 71,166 lead pipes transporting drinking water, and estimates that removing every lead pipe statewide will cost $14.6 billion.
A few years ago, our local water system added water meters to all the houses, and in the process, laid hands on the service lines to every house, and were pleasantly surprise to find no lead pipes being used.
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