Cloquet identifies over 2,000 water lines with potential for lead contamination - Cloquet Pine Journal | News, weather, sports from Cloquet Minnesota

CLOQUET — The city completed an inventory of its water lines following a new rule by the Environmental Protection Agency aimed at identifying and mitigating lead in drinking water. Though the city did not identify any lead lines, it found over 2,000 water lines which had the potential for lead contamination.

Last week, the city of Cloquet sent letters to homeowners and renters with water pipes made of either galvanized steel or unknown material, both of which could contaminate water with lead.

“We're trying to be transparent and send out as much information as possible, but it's not an indication that there's elevated lead levels in your water,” said Caleb Peterson, the city’s director of public works.

The EPA required water systems across the country to conduct a systemwide inventory of their water service lines by Oct. 16. To do so, the city of Cloquet reviewed documents, maps and permits to identify potential lead or galvanized pipes. The city identified 356 galvanized pipes, 1,962 unknown pipes and zero lead lines.

“We did not find any lead service lines in Cloquet, nor do I have any record that there has ever been any lead service lines in Cloquet,” Peterson said.

The EPA is requiring the eventual replacement of galvanized service lines, which have been dipped in a protective zinc coating and are prone to absorbing lead from upstream service lines that may contain lead. A timeline has yet to be determined.

In some cases, a portion of the service line may have been identified as non-lead, but the city still classified the lines as unknown because the length of the service line hasn’t been identified.

Exposure to lead can have serious health ramifications, according to the World Health Organization. In children, it can affect IQ and attention span and in adults, it can bring increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure and negatively impact the kidneys and nervous system.

Cloquet resident Barb Moore was worried after receiving a letter from the city alerting her that the water in the home she’s lived in for 44 years may contain lead.

Moore, who suffers from negative health effects from a formaldehyde exposure nearly 40 years ago, tries to avoid all harmful chemicals. She now plans to get her water tested to determine if the lead levels in her water are hazardous.

“I would hope that the city would really dedicate itself to making sure the people here have safe water,” she said.

The city of Cloquet regularly tests its water for lead and copper and hasn’t found its water to contain hazardous levels of lead, according to Peterson.

Homeowners in Cloquet own the service line from the meter to the curb or to the water shutoff at the street. The city does not have funding in place to assist property owners with the cost of replacing the customer-owned portion of the service line. However, Peterson is hopeful that state and federal funding opportunities will become available.

“We're hoping this will open up a funding source to help ... private property owners deal with the pipe on their side from the curb stop into the house,” he said.

The city’s aging galvanized water pipes eventually will need to be replaced anyway, Peterson said, as the lines are becoming brittle over time and are increasingly at risk of leaking.

Galvanized water pipes were commonly installed in Cloquet over 50 years ago and are more common in the older parts of town, according to Peterson.

“It's something that needs to be addressed, but, no, it's not necessarily an indication of a problem,” he said.