[Lincolnparkdc] Any experience with lead in water pipes abatement?

Sun Sep 20 23:18:00 EDT 2020

Yes Gina, they will still do it. It’s a city wide program. Call Kevon Levenberry 301-404-0951. He is the contractor (United Construction) coordinating the work. He should be out & about Kentucky Ave tomorrow. His company is scheduled to do 2 houses tomorrow starting apx 7:30 am @ Bob & Hazel’s home. They plan to do 2 houses each day this week. My home (103 Ky) and 107 Ky are scheduled for Thursday.

Good luck,

Margaret

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 20, 2020, at 8:17 PM, "citymom92 at gmail.com" <citymom92 at gmail.com> wrote:

Now that I’m seeing everyone getting their limes replaced I’m wondering why I wasn’t contacted along with everyone else. I wouldn’t mind the higher pressure I suppose, but I’m pretty sure we tested for lead when we first moved into this house and it wasn’t a problem. Wondering if I should follow up with DC Water. Will they still do it even if it’s not scheduled at the same time as everyone else this week?

Thanks,
Gina A

On Sep 4, 2020, at 6:48 PM, Paul Krupa <paul.krupa at gmail.com> wrote:

Bryan,
Yes, we do have copper as it is visible entering the house. The big gain for us is the bump up from ⅝” to 1”.
Paul

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On Sep 4, 2020, at 06:45, Bryan George <bryandgeorge at gmail.com> wrote:

We signed up as well -- were told that they were going to be doing "several" houses on the block this month, and that they hoped to do 2 a day.  They were leaving flyers on doors, but called us directly with the offer.  The guy came in and looked at our pipe and sent a contract later that day.  The service map (https://dcwater.com/servicemap) shows which houses have lead pipes (at least which houses they think have lead) -- Paul, interestingly 159 is one of 2 houses on our side of the block that's listed as having copper pipes inside and out.

Bryan
147 Ky

On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 10:31 PM Mark Jordan <mark at markjordan.me<mailto:mark at markjordan.me>> wrote:
One piece of knowledge I picked up when lead pipes in schools was most recently an issue:

There are two kinds of lead in water:  soluble (i.e., lead dissolved in water) and particulate (i.e., discrete pieces of lead that slough off of a lead source, which are typically smaller than the eye can see).  Both types, when ingested, are toxic.

I raise it only because it's relevant to decisions to replace pipes based on the results of a test of lead levels in your water.  If you have a lead pipe servicing your house and pieces of lead occasionally break off as particulate, they may or may not end up in a sample you collect for testing.  In other words, you may end up with false negatives.

Thanks.

Mark

On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 10:02 PM Ken Jarboe <kpjarboe at gmail.com<mailto:kpjarboe at gmail.com>> wrote:
Some of the feeder line on Capitol Hill are galvanized iron. You can test this by seeing if a magnet will stick to the line where it comes into the house (before the shutoff valve. See
https://www.dcwater.com/identifylead

On Sep 3, 2020, at 7:59 PM, Peter R <CapHillPeter at doofuscorp.com<mailto:CapHillPeter at doofuscorp.com>> wrote:

There is a lot of information available at www.dcwater.com<http://www.dcwater.com>.
Try: https://www.dcwater.com/voluntary-replacements
and https://www.dcwater.com/replacelead

For a map showing if DC Water thinks you have a lead service line (they are
not always right), see
https://geo.dcwater.com/Lead/

Many years ago, when the water supplier to DC Water (then called WASA)
switched from chlorine to chloramine, it caused lead to leach into the
water.  They later added chemicals to prevent that from happening, and the
lead levels in our water have gone down significantly.  So much that DC
Water has cut way back on lead line replacements and is no longer considered
to be a "problem city".  Most houses with lead pipes now register
more-or-less acceptable lead levels (including mine).  But they do admit
that all lead lines need to be replaced eventually.

On Cap Hill, the city owns your front yard, up to the face of the house.  DC
Water is responsible for replacing that portion of the pipe, but due to
problems many years ago, they will only replace their part if you replace
your part.  If I recall, DC Water will do your part for a flat fee of around
$500, but I may be recalling wrong.  DC Water's customer service line
(354-3600) is pretty helpful sometimes, so give them a try.  They will
probably transfer you to the lead pipe department.

Replacing the shutoff valve at the same time is a very good idea, and may be
something that is standard.  If you have old copper pipes, or older
iron/steel pipes (that is, not plastic pipes), you may also want to add an
*electric* shutoff valve also.  This can be wired into a basement water
detector so that when the inevitable leak or burst pipe/water heater/washer
hose occurs the detector can shut off your water.  You will still have a
flood, but you won't have a swimming pool.

If you are really concerned about lead and cost, the cheapest solution is to
get a filter pitcher or filter on your kitchen faucet.  Lead won't hurt you
in the shower or laundry, only your drinking water.

--Peter--

-----Original Message-----
From: Cathie Woteki <uygp-hs47 at DoofusCorp.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2020 6:08 PM
To: lincolnparkdc at lincolnparkdc.info<mailto:lincolnparkdc at lincolnparkdc.info>
Subject: [Lincolnparkdc] Any experience with lead in water pipes abatement?

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We were approached by a representative of United Construction Services about
lining the water pipe coming into our house with new copper pipe as well as
replacing the shutoff valve for a cost of $1200.  Has anyone on the list
done this?  What was your experience?

Thanks for whatever information you can provide!

Cathie Woteki

Cathie, her iPad Mini

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