Hinesburg water line inventory gets underway

Hinesburg, like other towns in Vermont and throughout the country, is beginning to take stock of its water lines as part of a federally mandated program to find and remove lead pipes.

The new requirement mandates all towns with public drinking water systems to complete a lead service line inventory by October 2024 to comply with new federal lead and copper rules.

“It’s a requirement of the state that we do a survey of the service line — which is basically the line between the curb stop and the house — to see whether they are lead or not,” town manager Todd Odit said.

Roughly $140 million was allocated for Vermont by the federal government, but Vermont’s public water systems are eligible for low-interest loans that will be eligible for partial forgiveness.

The town has hired MSK Engineers to conduct the inventory. The town, along with MSK Engineers, completed a Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund Application for $100,000 to complete the work, according to Joy Dubin Grossman, Hinesburg’s assistant town manager.

Most of that money will be eligible for loan forgiveness.

While work is still underway, there are still some undetermined areas. MSK completed a survey of Lyman Meadows water service line earlier this year.

Lead, when consumed, poses dangerous health impacts on heart health, kidney function, and can interfere with red blood cells’ ability to carry oxygen to the body. New regulations and stricter limits on the federal level aim at reducing this exposure — roughly six years after the Flint, Mich., water crisis.