Columbus City Utilities will ask some customers to take water samples to test for lead after the utility replaces service lines in their area.
City utilities will replace service lines in four areas — on Eighth Street, Ninth Street, Jackson Street and Gladstone Avenue, said utilities Executive Director Scott Dompke. Customers in those areas will be notified by letter from the utility company.
About 150 customers are being notified in the following areas:
- Eighth Street, from Lafayette Avenue to Cottage Avenue
- Ninth Street, from Franklin Street to Lafayette Avenue
- Jackson Street, from Eighth Street to 12th Street
- Gladstone Avenue, from Indiana Avenue to McKinley Avenue
These areas, based on the age of pipes, may have service lines containing lead and galvanized steel. At a recent utilities board meeting, Dompke said that typically, the extent of lead material located on a service line is an 18-inch section called the “gooseneck.”
He and other officials emphasized that this service line replacement project is not the result of any health concern.
“This is not being done because there is a risk of lead contamination. This is being done as a project of maintenance,” said board member Clayton Force. “There is no health risk to our customers. There is no risk of lead contamination.”
Force added that the project is merely an “upgrade” of the current water system.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
