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House water panel considers council to help get the lead out of Minnesota water

If your home was built before 1927, it likely has lead service lines, increasing the amount of lead in your water.

And lead is toxic.

“There is no safe level of lead,” said Lucy Levers, a research associate at the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center.

A bill approved by the House Water Division Monday seeks to address that and other water safety issues.

Sponsored by Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska), HF3971 was referred to the House Government Operations Committee. There is no Senate companion.

The bill would reestablish, and rename, the Advisory Council on Water Supply Systems and Wastewater Treatment Facilities, that expired on June 30, 2019.

The 11-member council would advise the Department of Health and the Pollution Control Agency regarding the classification, qualification and regulation of water supply systems and wastewater treatment facilities.

“I believe that Minnesota does a pretty good job with our wastewater, and especially our drinking water protection in Minnesota,” Torkelson said. “I think the vast majority of Minnesotans drink safe water. We do a lot to make sure that happens.”

Levers performed a cost-benefit analysis for the Health Department on lead in Minnesota drinking water. She found about 100,000 Minnesota homes have lead service lines and about 675,000 homes still have lead in plumbing or fixtures. The cost to remove all of them would be $1.5 billion to $4 billion over 20 years – a move that cities such as Madison, Wisconsin, and Boston have already undertaken.

The cost to remove lead service lines is $2,500 to $8,000 per line, Levers said, but the benefit is double the cost because lead, a potent neurotoxin, decreases IQ, leading to lower salary and productivity.

Lever said Minnesota homes are highly unlikely to have the kind of dangerous lead levels found in Flint, Michigan, that resulted in a public health crisis beginning in 2014.

“However, we do have a substantial of amount of homes that still have lead service lines and premise plumbing,” she said. “So while we don’t have the same situation as Flint, we do have a case where something like lead service lines, which are considered public and private, can be contributing to lead poisoning.”

People who live in older homes with lead fittings or service lines can reduce the amount of lead in water by running the tap a little before using it, not drinking hot water and using a filter.

Representing the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, Elizabeth Wefel, said the coalition, which represents more than 120 cities outside of the Twin Cities metro area, supports re-establishing the council to ensure communities have clean, safe water.


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