THUNDER BAY — The City of Thunder Bay is set to roll out a program to help residents replace lead pipes connecting their homes to city watermains.
Administration is recommending that council approve interest-free loans of up to $3,000 to help cover the cost of removing and replacing the service pipe between the property line and the house.
The proposal comes in a report to be submitted Monday by Michelle Warywoda, director of the city's environment division.
Warywoda suggests a five-year term for repayment of the loan, or a maximum of 10 years.
It's been estimated that the current average cost of replacing a feeder pipe on a homeowner's side of the property line is $3,000.
The city budget already includes $50,000 to suppport either a loan or a rebate pilot project for one year.
Some 8,700 residences across Thunder Bay have privately-owned lead service connections. Approximately 7,000 of these homes also have lead connections on the city's side of the property line.
Homes built before the mid 1950s are more likely to have lead service lines as well as lead pipes inside, while those built up until the 1980s may have copper pipes joined with solder that contains lead.
Customers with lead service pipes already should have received a notice from the city, identifying that their property has a lead connection.
Homeowners who didn't receive a letter can still contact the Infrastructure and Operations dispatch line at 625-2195 to arrange a free test.
Lead pipes are a dull grey colour. Scraping the surface gently will reveal a shiny, silver-coloured metal beneath.
The city currently replaces lead pipes from the street to the property line at a rate of about 150 homes annually.
Officials have estimated the cost of replacing all lead pipes, including both privately-owned and city-owned, at $80 million.
Councillor Andrew Foulds – one of the councillors who has lobbied strongly for an assistance plan for homeowners – says if the first year of the loan program is capped at $50,000, it probably won't be enough.
"It will be highly depend on whether there is a large uptake. It is certainly my desire that there is a large uptake, because getting lead out of the ground is one of my top priorities," Foulds said.
He said if the money that's been set aside for the program proves to be inadequate, "council will have to take a serious look at increasing the budget" so that more homeowners are able to take advantage of it.
Administration's report recommends that the success of the program be reviewed after two years.
Additional details will be provided to council on Monday.
