City of Duluth Asking For Help in Testing Lead Pipes

DULUTH, Minn.– With tougher regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency on the way the city of Duluth are asking for the public’s help in collecting data on lead pipes throughout the city.

The city is looking for residents all over the city to join in on the free study to sample their drinking water to test for the amount of lead present.

Over 100 single-family homes that are connected to city water through a lead service line are needed for the study. The EPA’s new federal regulations won’t be enforced for another three years, but city officials want an updated and robust set of data to more accurately make changes to the city’s water treatment process if needed.

They say rooting out high lead levels in water would also help populations at a higher risk for lead poisoning.

“There is no safe level of lead, we want to see zero. But we know that there are a lot of older homes in Duluth. A lot of those have led surface lines, there’s around 500 in the city,” said Lindsey Seifert-Monson, a chemist for the city of Duluth. “There are health risks associated with lead, especially with kids and pregnant women so we really want to target the young kid population.”

The city has been in compliance with the current guidelines since the regulations went into effect in the mid-1990s. More information on signing up for the sample is on the city’s website on a first come first serve basis. Duluth residents can also get additional tips on how to mitigate risk like running water before using it or installing a water filter.

When applying for the study, city officials say those who aren’t sure if they have a lead service line or not can click the ‘I don’t know’ option and the city will give them more information.