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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) executives say the company will be replacing all of the lead pipes in the city over the next ten years.
According to MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen, they are “very well prepared” to create a plan to adhere to a new EPA rule that requires U.S. cities to find and replace any waste lines that may possibly be toxic. This new rule was implemented in an effort to improve the safety of drinking water.
McGowen told Good Morning Memphis that they were already working towards the upcoming changes.
“We knew this was coming and thankfully, we were very well prepared because we were already doing this,” McGowen said, “We were well ahead of our peers, well ahead of the federal government and this mandate. We knew it was coming and we were prepared for this.”
McGowen noted, however, that MLGW is only responsible for pipes that run to the meter. They are not responsible for replacing any lines that run to the home or inside of it.
MLGW is in the process of creating a pilot program that will provide assistance with expenses related to that replacement.
“So we’re going to put a program in place to allow low income or age-qualified individuals to apply for that,” McGowen said. “Now, that’s not in place yet so don’t ask to apply yet. But s we do the pilot this fall and this winter, we’ll develop the parameters around that. We’ve applied for federal and state funding to help us with that. And that’s the funding that we’ll use to replace it on the private side.”
MLGW says they have inspected or replaced 9,000 lead lines since 2012, and they have pledged $110 million towards replacing the remaining lead pipes.
Earlier this year, Fox13 reported on the dangers of lead exposure and the possible impact that the toxin can have on children. While the focus of their report was lead exposure in older homes, the potentially dangerous effects could be transmitted through lead pipes as well.
Information about replacing lead pipes can be found here.
