Lawrence to replace old galvanized water lines at no cost for homeowners

If a letter from the City of Lawrence lands in your mailbox, you may qualify for a no-cost galvanized water line replacement, but the clock starts immediately: return the survey and waiver within 30 days or you could lose your place in the current round.

The city said it has no known lead service lines on the city side of the water system, and its focus is now on private galvanized lines, the steel pipes coated in zinc that can still carry lead contamination if they were ever downstream of a lead or unknown service line. Lawrence’s highest concentrations of galvanized lines were found on Massachusetts Street, Vermont Street and Ohio Street, making those corridors some of the most likely places to hear from the city first.

The outreach now underway is tied to an April 23 city update and a broader inventory effort under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. In Lawrence’s 2024 survey, about 130 galvanized lines were identified as needing replacement, but because only about 10% of property owners responded, the city estimates there could be 1,300 to 1,500 galvanized lines across the city. City staff may also contact owners by phone or email to arrange inspections.

When a property is cleared for work, the city says it will replace the private galvanized water line from the meter to the point where the line enters the building, using PEX in city documents. The work is free for eligible homeowners. Residents will get at least 48 hours’ notice before crews begin, along with a minimum 12-month workmanship warranty, a pitcher filter and six months of replacement filters. Follow-up water testing comes 3 to 6 months after installation.

The city is paying for the effort with about $250,000 a year from water main replacement funds, and replacements will be scheduled in the order responses come in. That makes the first response especially important: the city’s letter warns that if homeowners do not complete the survey and waiver within 30 days, they may no longer qualify for the current round of work or may be pushed to the end of the list.

Under the EPA rule, galvanized requiring replacement means galvanized pipe that is or ever was downstream of a lead service line, or downstream of a lead-status-unknown line. Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the Lead and Copper Rule applies to community water systems and non-transient non-community systems, and the state sets the lead action level at 0.015 mg/L based on the 90th percentile of tap samples. State guidance also says lead exposure can damage the brain, red blood cells and kidneys, with young children and pregnant women facing the greatest risk.