The City of Troy has inventoried half of its lead water lines — and the new mayor is pledging the city will meet a state deadline.
Last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Lead Pipe Right to Know Act, which requires municipalities to inventory and make available to the public their water service line stock. Summaries are due to the state Department of Health by October 16.
In Troy, just over 50 percent of water lines have been inventoried since last year when residents began questioning why half-a-million-dollars in grants went unspent by the previous administration. Then-Mayor Patrick Madden maintained that the funding was not enough to address an issue that could affect thousands of residents and structures.
Now, Democratic City Council President Sue Steele says reaching the next 50 percent of residents is where the real challenge lies.
“We have a very small window with a very large number of people who have who need to respond,” Steele said.
Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello says her administration is making strides to catalogue the lines. The Republican, who took office in January, vowed during her campaign to replace all lead service lines during her first four-year term.
“I will pledge during my first term to attempt, it's very ambitious, but to replace all pipes here in the city of Troy during that time,” Mantello said. “We have hired an outside contractor; we've already done about 70-something private properties; we'll continue that.”
According to a 2023 report by the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly 1.2 million service lines in New York are unreported. The report projects that more than 5 percent of the state’s lines are contaminated.
Troy’s water supply serves approximately 135,000 residents across eight municipalities.
Mantello says the city is working to replace all of its contaminated service lines at no cost to property owners. However, Mantello says residents need to do their part.
“If we need to go door to door to get that number up, and to spread the word that the inventory is critical, it will put us in a better place as we're competing for grants against other municipalities across the state,” Mantello said. “So, the more we can drive people to that inventory, to just test their landlines, even if they know they have a new house, we need those folks to inventory.”
More than 6,000 services lines throughout the city remain unverified. Mantello contends that while the city plans to reach 75 percent by October, money to replace the lines needs to flow more smoothly. Mantello says the city has hired a part-time grant writer to assist its efforts in obtaining funding.
“If the state and the feds are mandating this needs to be done by the end of 2024 and then obviously, the lead pipe replacement pipes are all being corrected say in the next seven to 10 years, those monies have to flow quicker, easier for municipalities,” Mantello said. “Because this is the mandate. We view it as super important. Obviously, safe drinking water is right up there with public safety.”
Jona Favreau, a resident and mother whose children have elevated levels of lead in their blood, has been an advocate for lead-free communities. At a recent city council meeting, Favreau said mailers sent out by the city do not provide necessary information.
“Nowhere in there, did it mention that this program was replacing LED service lines for free. And I think that's a really important factor to put in there. Because residents or landlords, they might be concerned that if they're reporting this information, that they're going to be held liable for the replacement, Favreau said. “Also, in that mailing, nowhere did it state that residents can receive free pitchers and filters for their water. And I think that is also a huge incentive that should be blasted everywhere to get residents to report this information.”
Rob Hayes, the Director of Clean Water at Environmental Advocates NY, says Governor Hochul’s budget proposal halves state aid for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. Hayes says funding for the program is not only used for lead pipe replacement but water main repairs, plant upgrades, and sewage treatments. Hayes says the cut would provide $500 million in funding for the program for two years after it got the same amount for one-year last year.
“This is not the year of the cutting clean water funding. It's going to put jobs at risk and at the end of the day, it's going to put more of the costs of this aging and failing infrastructure on local communities,” Hayes said.
The state budget is due April 1st.
