Lead Water Service Line Replacement Project Expands to New Areas
Published on March 06, 2025
138 service lines replaced by City’s Lead Safe Lincoln Initiative
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Liz Elliott, Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director (LTU) today announced that the City’s lead water service line replacement program will expand to portions of four central Lincoln neighborhoods this spring. This project is part of the City’s Lead Safe Lincoln initiative, launched in 2022 to proactively prevent community members’ exposure to lead.
“Through Lead Safe Lincoln, City teams are conducting lead testing in children, assessing lead exposure risk, removing lead from homes, and replacing lead water service lines,” said Mayor Gaylor Baird. “Our work to replace private lead water service lines at no cost to property owners protects our community members’ health and their pocketbooks, as this improvement would otherwise cost homeowners thousands of dollars.”
Pipe replacements began in July 2024 in portions of the Woods Park, North Bottoms and Hawley neighborhoods. Of the nearly 200 properties reviewed in those areas, 138 lead and galvanized service lines have been replaced with copper pipe. Another 59 homes were assessed and did not need a replacement.
Director Elliott said the City is preparing to contact the next group of 1,000 property owners in portions of the Everett, Near South, Irvingdale, and South Salt Creek neighborhoods. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2025 and continue through 2026. The City will contact residents in the Salt Creek Area Neighborhood in 2026 with plans for construction in 2026 to 2027.
Joining Mayor Gaylor Baird and Elliott at the news conference were Justin Carlson, City Council Member; and John Heineman, Near South Neighborhood Association Administrative Vice President and central Lincoln property owner Bernice Polivka.
Elliott said replacement work is guided by data that indicates areas showing a greater density of lead and lead contaminated galvanized steel service lines, elevated blood levels of lead in children, social vulnerability, and risk to lead exposure due to the amount of lead in the service line.
Water service lines are smaller, privately owned pipelines that connect a home or business to the City’s public water main located under the street. The City contacts property owners via mail and schedules in-home inspections prior to the work. A City-contracted plumbing company completes the replacement work.
“By signing up for the City’s program, it ensures your household or business has a safer, cleaner water service line for years to come. Replacing your own lead service line can cost a property owner up to $10,000,” Elliott said. “We encourage property owners to take advantage of this program while it’s active in their neighborhood.”
Heineman said the pipe replacement program is especially important in older neighborhoods like Near South which have historic homes that can benefit from updated technology.
“In the Near South Neighborhood, we work hard to preserve our old, historic homes. This program will help preserve the health and safety of the people who live in those homes well into the future,” Heineman said.
Polivka said the work to replace a lead service line on a rental property she owns took about three hours to complete. She recommended other property owners participate in the free pipe replacement program.
“I’m grateful that this program exists because it means I don’t have to worry about lead pipes, and it increases the health of our community. If you have the chance to take advantage of this program, do it. It’s worth it,” Polivka said.
Carlson said the pipe replacement program is a great example of how to effectively bring together the resources and expertise of Lincoln Transportation and Utilities, the Urban Development Department, and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to remove lead exposure risks.
“When we remove lead or lead-contaminated water service lines today, we're not just safeguarding our present. We are securing a better future for generations of Lincolnites to come,” Carlson said.
The City announced the lead water service line replacement program in February 2024, with the goal to assess and replace nearly 6,000 lead service lines in Lincoln by 2035. The program is voluntary, and there is no cost to the property owners for the line replacement service.
The service line replacement project is part of a multi-year program made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided $32.6 million in federal loan funding to this program, and by partners at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, and the Lincoln City Council. The lead replacement program is estimated to cost $55 million to replace the 6,000 service lines.
For more information and to determine whether your property service line is lead or galvanized, visit the Lead Service Line Replacement website at Lead Safe Lincoln – City of Lincoln, NE.