Suffolk City outlines schedule to locate and phase out lead water service lines

Suffolk City officials told the City Council at a work session that the city is conducting a federally required water service-line inventory and will begin a second round of field verifications within weeks.

The update, presented by Paul Retell, Director of Public Utilities, explained that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires all drinking-water utilities to identify lead service lines and galvanized steel lines downstream of lead (classified by the EPA as galvanized requiring replacement). Retell said the city submitted an initial inventory in October 2024 and will complete follow-up field verification work required by November 2027.

Retell described a two-step approach: a sample of vacuum-excavation test holes at both sides of the meter feeds a predictive model that uses building age and other variables to narrow the areas that need additional excavation. "The computer will kick those areas out from having to go back in there and do continued sampling," he said, describing how negative findings in one neighborhood can remove similar areas from further work. He told the council the second round of test holes is planned to start within the next several weeks and that each site visit typically takes about 30 minutes and does not interrupt service.

The initial, approximately 360-sample round identified 22 lead service lines on the public side of meters and 47 galvanized lines the presenters classified as requiring replacement on private property; no private-side lead lines were found in that sample. Retell emphasized that most identified lead was in older downtown sections and noted other focus areas on the city map presented to the council.

On the topic of responsibility and cost, Retell said current regulatory language assigns the city responsibility to "replace the line," but that this does not automatically mean the city will cover all private-side replacement costs. "There could be a variety of things that could occur here," he said, listing possibilities the city is considering: grant funding, loan programs to subsidize replacement, or customer payment. He added that the city must follow the notification steps required by EPA rules if a property owner does not replace a private-side line, including multiple attempts to notify and annual follow-up notifications until replacement.

Retell underscored public outreach plans: information postcards will be mailed to addresses chosen for sampling, door hangers will be left one week before work, and staff will provide context about what a test excavation entails. Council members praised the door-hanger outreach as useful for avoiding confusion when crews are in neighborhoods.

Next steps: staff will complete round two of field verifications, feed results into the predictive model to further narrow sampling needs, and return to council with updated findings. Retell reminded the council that, under current EPA rules, identified lead service lines are to be removed from service by 2037, making the inventory and subsequent replacement planning a multiyear effort.

The presentation and Q&A did not include a formal vote or policy decision on cost-sharing for private-side replacements; council members pressed staff for options to assist homeowners who could not afford replacement, and staff said policy choices remain under development.