Recently, thousands of city of Rochester households received letters informing them that the water service lines to their homes contain either lead or unknown materials.
Some residents were alarmed by the letters, particularly those who learned that their water lines contain lead.
But David Rowley, manager of water production for the city's Water Bureau, said they weren't intended to alarm people. Instead, they are the result of a new federal regulatory requirement.
"We do a lot of testing of drinking water from homes that have lead service lines and many of them still have really low levels of lead," Rowley said.
In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized an update to its Lead and Copper Rule. The notices sent out by the city — and similar ones sent by the Monroe County Water Authority to its customers — are now required under that rule.
The updated regulations also require drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years.
Lead water lines are nothing new and neither are galvanized steel lines that contain lead. In Rochester, most were installed well over 100 years ago.
The city is in a multi-year effort to replace lead-containing service lines, with a goal of swapping them all out by 2030.
The work began in 2018, and the city has replaced 8,450 lead-containing service lines, Rowley said. When the project started, the city had about 26,000 lead-containing service lines and the number is down to roughly 18,000.
"The city's been very proactive with going after all different funding sources to be able to bid out some projects," said Nicholas Wynne, an engineer with the Water Bureau. The work has been happening throughout the city and staff are ensuring they pay equal attention to disadvantaged neighborhoods, he added.
The notices offer residents tips to minimize the possibility of lead exposure at the faucet, such as using cold water to drink and cook and using a water filter that can remove lead. Those tips and others are available at cityofrochester.gov/lead.
The city is also offering to test residents' water for lead, though Rowley cautions that the bureau has seen an influx of requests. It received 400 in two days after the letters were sent, and its lab has four staff members to work through the tests.
And for anyone whose notice said that they have a water service line containing unknown materials, the city needs some information from you. It asks that you check your water service line between your basement wall and water meter to see what it is made of.
If you aren't comfortable doing that, someone from the city will come to check it. To set up an appointment, email GettheLeadOut@cityofrochester.gov or call or text (585) 866-9258.
