$100m loan program aims to replace Mass. lead water lines

[unhappycamper]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/20/program-aims-replace-lead-service-lines-dozens-mass-cities/VfQtfzU2A2XjdsukDWBevI/story.html



New water pipes awaiting installation in Flint, Michigan.

$100m loan program aims to replace Mass. lead water lines
By Matt Rocheleau Globe Staff March 21, 2016

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is launching a $100 million interest-free loan program to help cities and towns cover the cost of replacing 28,000 aging water service lines made with lead that threaten to contaminate drinking water in dozens of communities.

Service lines connect water mains below the street to homes and businesses. Lead lines are no longer installed because they can leach harmful levels of lead into the water, but they were commonly used decades ago in many parts of the country.

Lynn Thorp, national campaigns director at Clean Water Action, a group that advocates for safe, affordable water, applauded the move. “This is a leadership move, and it shows that it can be done,” Thorp said. “There are other places that have worked toward removing all lead service lines. But I’m not aware of anything of this scale.”

Removing old lines is a daunting task, but some individual communities have succeeded in replacing all lead service lines. The East Bay Municipal Utility District in California replaced its lead service lines in the 1990s. The city of Lansing, Mich., expects to have all of its replaced by next year.

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I remember when the MWRA replaced the feeder lines to the Quabbin - they found a chunk of 'pipe' that was made out of wood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quabbin_Reservoir
http://www.bahistory.org/ <-- I just spent a 1/2 hour nosing around this site

[MisterP]

1. the reservoir gave us two Lovecraft novellas, to boot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Color_Out_of_Space
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dunwich_Horror