©2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. As an important and trusted source of information for your community, we want to let you know what to expect as we look ahead to 2021. Denver Water has been replacing lead service lines for the last few years as these customer-owned lines are discovered during the course of our regular, routine maintenance work on the system. 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Please review information on our website on the process to replace the lead service line and the application for a partial reimbursement. Today, scientists and society are more aware than in the past of the dangers posed by the use of lead in paint, gasoline and drinking water infrastructure. Denver Water has been developing a comprehensive inventory of known and suspected lead services lines using a combination of property records (homes built before 1951 are more likely to have lead service lines in Denver Water’s experience), water quality tests and visual inspections of service lines. Falco added that several utilities in … Once work areas are identified, Denver Water will determine the timing for individual properties in that work area. We are upgrading and modernizing the northern portion of our water system. Denver Water estimates there are currently 64,000 – 84,000 customers who have lead service line which bring water into their homes. *We’ve provided a guide on how to use Denver Water’s lead service line replacement map. Over the years, including as part of the LRP, Denver Water has raised the pH of drinking water, which makes the water less corrosive. Rather than taking several decades to complete this effort, the Lead Reduction Program will replace these lead service lines in 15 years. Find out what projects we're doing to improve our system. Keep in mind that having a lead service line does not necessarily mean you have elevated levels of lead in your drinking water. We suggest viewing the map in Google Chrome. If your building has been shut down for a prolonged period beware of water stagnation. Get some answers. In the water industry, concerns about lead pipes have evolved over decades. Denver Water maintains a test station in Edgewater and has not found elevated lead levels in Edgewater drinking water. Lead is a naturally occurring metal that has been a part of human society for thousands of years. We are committed to improving the process used to determine where to complete work on an annual basis. The results of this and other regular, routine testing have been included in annual reports you can find posted on our website, and we notify customers of our annual report in our bill inserts.Â, When test results from customers with known lead service lines and plumbing in 2012 indicated lead levels above the EPA’s “action level,” Denver Water informed all customers by mail, including property owners and tenants, and began the largest customer communication and education program in the utility’s 100-year history, sharing information about the sources of lead in drinking water via inserts in monthly bills, on social media, working with local news media, and other avenues. This project will be carried out at no cost to the property owner on the scheduled replacement date; if you decide to have the pipes replaced before your scheduled date, Denver Water will cover up to $3,800 of the project cost. Denver Water has monitored lead levels in customers’ homes for nearly 30 years, in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule. These service lines do not belong to Denver Water, they belong to the property owner, much like a driveway also is the responsibility of the property owner. Denver Water is hosting neighborhood-specific virtual community meetings to inform … In 2020, Denver Water launched its Lead Reduction Program. Learn about the key components of the program in this video. Though the water that Denver Water provides is safe, clean and lead-free, lead can get into the water as it moves through customer-owned plumbing. Lindsay McCormick, is a Program Manager. This change also strengthens an existing protective coating on the interior of the pipe. This new section features an interactive map where you can type in your address and see if your property is one of the potential homes with a lead service line. The agency is identifying which homes are at risk of lead … This estimate is based on extensive investigations Denver Water is conducting to identify lead service lines, which to date have been challenging to locate given inconsistent, scattered information because they are owned by each property owner, not Denver Water. Denver Water launched a comprehensive Lead Reduction Program in 2020 to reduce the risk of lead getting into drinking water. Bringing you water news, stories, photos and videos. Denver Water is seeking a Surveyor Project Lead to perform professional land survey work that requires diversified expertise and knowledge in the principals and practices of land surveying. Denver Water is currently working to update our online maps to indicate work locations for the Lead Reduction Program as well as other Denver Water construction. It’s part of an aggressive lead reduction plan for the city, which includes identifying and replacing old lead service lines at no cost to customers. While Colorado continues to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Denver Water continues to take on a challenge they have addressed for over 70 years: lead in drinking water.. Denver Water has implemented a Lead Reduction Program that involves replacing lead water lines with copper lines over the next 15 years for every property in their service area. About 1,200 lead service lines were replaced every year through these efforts, indicating it would take several decades to replace the estimated 64,000 to 84,000 lead service lines in Denver Water’s service area. Lead service lines are also replaced as property owners choose to redevelop their properties or replace their old service lines.Â. The water provided to homes and businesses is lead-free, but lead can get into the water as it moves through customer-owned, lead-containing household fixtures, plumbing, and water service lines—the pipe that brings water into the home from the main in the street. The utility will start implementing the program in 2020.. A slight change that unless you’re a brewery or aquarium, should go unnoticed. When … In March 2020, Denver Water launched a new section on its website dedicated to information about lead in drinking water and the Lead Reduction Program. The coating reduces the likelihood of lead getting into the water as it passes through customer-owned water service lines, household plumbing and faucets that contain lead. If you are unsure, note that in the email and we will conduct an evaluation and respond. The water Denver Water delivers to customers’ homes and businesses is lead-free. Click here to learn more about our purified drinking water. 129 were here. Have questions about lead? For customer emergencies, call 303-628-6801. Areas with large numbers of facilities that serve these populations, such as schools and daycares, are prioritized. DENVER (CBS4)– On Tuesday, Denver Water started changing the PH levels of the water they provide to customers, making the it slightly less acidic. CREA Results City and County of Denver Government The new rates will help pay for Denver Water’s new Lead Reduction Program, which launched in January. Hike the Gill Trail to catch scenic views of Cheesman Reservoir. As an important and trusted source of information for your community, we want to let you know what to expect as we look ahead to 2021. Denver Water crews replacing a lead service line at 1657 Vine Street. You can see the progress so far by checking out the program dashboard. Denver Water officials have known since 2012 or earlier about lead contamination caused by what the utility a few years ago estimated to be about 58,000 lead pipelines between water … We talked with Julieta Quiñonez and Pamela Williams about the program's status. 128 were here. Because of our commitment to incorporate lessons from our current work into future planning, we are unable to estimate timing beyond the current calendar year. Our Design Standards page gives you everything you need at your fingertips. Lead isn’t present in the water treated by the Denver utility, but like in other cities, the contaminant leaches into tap water as it travels through aging service lines owned by customers. Enter your address and the map* will tell you if your home is one of the estimated 64,000 to 84,000 homes with a possible lead service line. Denver Water, which serves around 1.5 million people in metro Denver, began its 15-year Lead Reduction Program in July. The program, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado … If you are able to determine your type of service line material, please send a photograph and your identification of the material to leadtest@dcwater.comso we can update our records. “This isn’t going to have an impact on taste or odor or anything like that. “These are actually lead lines that we’ve harvested from customer’s homes to make sure we’re replicating what’s in our system and how pipes might react to various treatment changes,” said Travis Thompson with Denver Water, showing us one of the facilities near Marston Lake where the water was being tested. Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program aims to reduce the risk of lead in water by replacing the estimated 64,000 to 84,000 customer-owned lead service lines in the utility’s service area by 2035. All rights reserved. Other determining factors include areas with the highest concentration of lead service lines, underserved neighborhoods and coordination with other known construction activity. If you are on a mobile phone, you may have to reduce your screen size or view in landscape mode (horizontal) for optimal results.Â. Through the Lead Reduction Program, Denver Water is able to accelerate the pace of replacing customer-owned lead service lines at no direct cost to the customer. By Jerd Smith. This video shows how customers in Denver Water's Lead Reduction Program should prepare their pitchers and water filters to reduce the risk of lead getting into water. Since March 2020, the pH levels have been increased to a target of 8.8 throughout all of Denver Water’s distribution system, which helps prevent lead from getting into the water … Are you part of the Lead Reduction Program? Update (12/18/19): EPA approved Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program on December 16, 2019. We have evolved our approach to lead over the years, including offering free water quality lead tests, replacing lead service lines when we come across them during our own construction and offering a lead service line reimbursement program through DURA. The Lead Reduction Program, which was approved in December 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, is aiming to address the nearly 64,000 … By the fall of each year, Denver Water plans to have identified work areas for the following year. The general public is not going to notice the increase from 7.8 to 8.8 on the PH scale,” he said. “It’s very expensive for people to do on their own, $5,000 to $10,000, if we’re able to go in in this program and get rid of that concern for our community, that’s a big win for all of Denver for sure,” said Thompson. Follow the journey of water from snowflake to tap. As part of this new program, we are again reaching out to customers who have or may have a lead service line as we begin a 15-year effort to locate and replace the estimated 64,000 to 84,000 lead service lines in our service area. Please sign up for our monthly newsletter to find out when these changes are live on our website. Lead service line removals: Denver Water will replace all the lead service lines in its service area, at no direct cost to those customers, over the next 15 years. Lead service lines are also replaced as property owners choose to redevelop their properties or replace their old service lines. Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program, which aims to reduce the risk of lead getting into drinking water, is moving ahead even as the utility responds to COVID-19.. Denver Water also is piloting a program to help customers who choose to replace their lead service lines at their own expense. Find your next place to play at any of our recreation areas. Because property owners, not Denver Water, own water service lines, information on what they are made of has been inconsistent and scattered among a variety of sources. Rather than adding orthophosphate as a corrosion inhibitor as required under the 1991 LCR after its Action Level Exceedance (ALE) in 2012 and creating downstream nutrient problems, Denver Water proposed a comprehensive Lead Reduction Program Plan (LRPP) that focuses on increasing the pH and alkalinity, conducting an accelerated lead service line replacement (LSLR) program to replace all lead … Denver Water is committed to delivering a safe, reliable water supply to its customers. If you recently received a notice from Denver Water that your tap water may contain lead, feel free to contact us to find out the exact solution that would be the best fit for you.