Most households in Jackson get their water through lead pipes. But the city is making significant progress in changing that, a Jackson official said.
"We have about 12,000 water service lines in our city, and about 11,000 were made of lead pipe as of about five years ago," Jeff Crow said. "Today, we're at around 9,000." Crow is Jackson’s assistant city engineer and project manager.
Michigan law requires public water systems to replace all lead service lines by 2041. The law was a direct result of the Flint water crisis, part of which was caused by residential lead pipes. Lead is a heavy toxic metal that can result in health problems for children and adults.
A mandate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires work to be completed even sooner — within the next 10 years.
Jackson’s program is free to residents, which is important in a community in which nearly 25% of residents live below the poverty line.
Crow said the city projects it will spending $4 million to $5 million replacing 800 lines over the next two years to replace lead lines.
The city is using funds from Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which are distributed through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The fund comprises a mix of federal and state dollars.
The city is focusing on an area bounded by West and Michigan avenues, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and Audubon and Prospect streets. Crow said roughly 2,000 lead service lines remain within that section of the city.
Crow said the city often coordinates the work with other infrastructure projects.
"We do routine testing on a quarterly basis, and it shows our lead levels are well below the action level," Crow said. "How we prioritize our areas are just based on interest in the block."
Residents can learn more about the program and sign up through the city's website.
"The end goal is to get the number of lead services in Jackson down from 9,000 to zero," he said. "So 10 years from now, we don't even talk about lead services."
Crow said residents may also notice other benefits when their service lines are replaced, including improved water pressure and upgraded water meters.
"Usually, these projects that are neighborhood projects bring neighborhood communication together," Crow said. "Usually, at the very least, the first step is just meeting the folks who work for the city and just seeing that we're here to help you guys out."
In the end, Crow stressed that Jackson’s water supply is safe.
“We're being proactive. We've seen communities like Flint deal with a crisis, so we're just disconnecting those out of the ground.”
This story is brought to you as part of a partnership between WKAR and Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
