Aspen to impose stricter requirements for lead in drinking water
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Aspen City Council unanimously passed a first reading of an ordinance aimed at updating the city’s water service line requirements. Called Ordinance 19, it sets out to be in compliance with new federal and state lead and copper regulations.
The city maintains over 85 miles of water main lines to ensure safe and reliable drinking water delivery. While the city oversees and maintains the main water lines that run from the water treatment plant to the point where they connect with a property, property owners are responsible for the smaller service lines running from the main line into their home or business.
The primary goal of the ordinance is to align Aspen’s water system with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions and Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which were finalized in December 2021.
These rules, which Aspen utilities staff had to meet by Oct. 16, impose stricter requirements for lead in drinking water, including mandatory service line inventories and replacement plans for all public water systems.
In that inventory, Aspen’s Water Department showed that 98% of the city’s 4,121 accounts are free of lead, with the majority of pipes being copper or plastic.
1.8% of service lines, however, are of an unknown material type, and 0.1% are made of galvanized steel, which will more than likely require replacement.
City Councilmember Bill Guth expressed concern over some of the service lines that are of an unknown material or galvanized steel, needing to be replaced, and the timeline for such replacements.
“Please confirm for me that you do not plan to immediately require any of those customer accounts to replace those service lines,” said Guth.
City Utilities Director Justin Forman said that the first step would be to reach out to any customers with these galvanized or unknown service lines in order to verify that the information is correct. He said that, ideally, replacement would happen over two right-of-way seasons, which runs from April 1 to Nov. 1.
The ordinance includes plans for utilities to physically verify and update the “unknown” materials through methods such as potholing, with a capital project slated for 2025 to complete these verifications.
“Any other service lines that fall into the ‘unknown’ category are concerning for me,” Guth said. “I assume that some of those lines belong to some of the oldest homes in Aspen that have not been redeveloped and are owned by residents whom we consider to be property wealthy and less cash-wealthy.”
He said that forcing water service replacements on those individuals gives him great concern.
This falls into one significant aspect of the ordinance which is the service line replacement plan, which requires property owners to replace any lines determined to be galvanized or lead.
Erin Loughlin Molliconi, the city field operations manager, said that they share those concerns.
“We share your concerns with burdening customers who are resource-limited, and we want to work with those folks and do this over an appropriate time,” Molliconi said. “I do want to add that folks with galvanized service lines are probably getting less than ideal water quality, if not from lead, but from other heavy metals, and it would be in their best interest to resolve that issue as well.”
The city is working to develop guidelines for property owners to navigate this process, and the ordinance allows flexibility for owners working in good faith within planning and construction timelines.
These service lines, which include the corporation valve, curb stop, and water meter, must be maintained by the property owner. According to the city’s municipal code, any issues, such as leaks or malfunctions, must be repaired within 48 hours to ensure proper water flow and functionality.
Financially, the ordinance does not provide direct funding for private service line replacements. However, the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority offers a pilot grant program to assist homeowners with essential repairs, including those related to water lines, which may offer some relief to eligible property owners.
Guth, Forman, and Molliconi agreed that there are versions of galvanized iron that may not contain lead and may not require replacement.
“We can do more research to make sure that we provide the most accurate response to ensure that there was never any lead in the system to change the assumption that they are listed under replacement currently,” Molliconi said. “It behooves both the utility and customer to limit disturbances while testing these sources.”
The utility staff said that the state requires two forms of verification, which will require staff to pothole, along with looking into a crawl space or a mechanical room, where the service lines enter the property, to verify the two required locations.
The Water Department has consistently met state and federal water quality standards, with no recorded violations for lead or copper since 1992.
Staff stated that this ordinance aims to ensure the city continues to meet those standards while enhancing protections against potential lead exposure in drinking water.
For further information, property owners can contact the Aspen Water Department at 970-920-5110 or refer to the Water Distribution Standards, section 5.6 of 25.12.130 in the municipal code.
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