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Lead in Minnesota Water ASSESSMENT of ELIMINATING LEAD in MINNESOTA DRINKING WATER

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Lead in Minnesota Water ASSESSMENT of ELIMINATING LEAD in MINNESOTA DRINKING WATER Lead in Minnesota Water ASSESSMENT OF ELIMINATING LEAD IN MINNESOTA DRINKING WATER FEBRUARY 2019 Lead in Minnesota Water Assessment of Eliminating Lead in Minnesota Drinking Water Minnesota Department of Health Environmental Health Division PO Box 64975 St. Paul, MN 55164-0975 651-201-4700 [email protected] www.health.state.mn.us February 2019 As requested by Minnesota Statute 3.197: This report cost approximately $10,000 to prepare, including staff time, printing and mailing expenses. Upon request, this material will be made available in an alternative format such as large print, Braille or audio recording. Printed on recycled paper. Lead in Minnesota Water Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................................................. i Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................ i Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Health Issues ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Drinking Water ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Lead in Sources of Water ................................................................................................................................... 6 Groundwater ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Surface Water .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Well Components .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Lead in Distribution Systems.............................................................................................................................. 9 Water Treatment Plants .................................................................................................................................. 9 Water Mains .................................................................................................................................................. 10 Water Meters ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Other Non-Premise Plumbing ....................................................................................................................... 10 Lead in Service Lines ........................................................................................................................................ 11 Publicly Owned .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Privately Owned ............................................................................................................................................ 13 Lead in Premises .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Pipes .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 Solder ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 Fixtures .......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Cost Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 15 Cost of Lead Removal .................................................................................................................................... 16 Fixtures and Solder ........................................................................................................................................ 17 Lead Service Lines.......................................................................................................................................... 17 Technical Assistance ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Additional Considerations ............................................................................................................................. 18 Benefits of Lead Removal .............................................................................................................................. 20 Benefits of Removing LSLs ............................................................................................................................. 21 Benefits of Removing Pipes, Solder, and Lead Fixtures................................................................................. 21 Increased Home Value .................................................................................................................................. 21 Improved Health Equity ................................................................................................................................ 22 Existing Funding Sources ............................................................................................................................... 22 Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................... 23 Risk Characterization ..................................................................................................................................... 24 Cost/Benefit Summary .................................................................................................................................. 24 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Lead Service Lines.......................................................................................................................................... 25 Public Awareness Campaigns ........................................................................................................................ 25 Technical Assistance and Partnerships .......................................................................................................... 26 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 Appendix A: Data Quality Issues ...................................................................................................................... 31 Blood Lead Data ............................................................................................................................................ 31 Operation of Drinking Water System ............................................................................................................ 31 LCR Compliance Statistics .............................................................................................................................. 31 LSL Replacement ........................................................................................................................................... 32 Water Sampling ............................................................................................................................................. 32 Appendix B: Lost Productivity .......................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix C: Legal Issues For Setting Water Rates ............................................................................................ 35 Lead in Minnesota Water i Executive Summary The 2017 Minnesota Legislature directed the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to “conduct an analysis to determine the scope of the lead problem in Minnesota's water and the cost to eliminate lead exposure in drinking water.” In this report, MDH assesses the scope of the lead problem by examining the extent of lead already in water systems as well as factors that allow lead to get in drinking water. However, because drinking water systems across the state are diverse and have varying requirements and resource needs, broad estimates are used to gauge costs. Addressing lead in drinking water has both costs and benefits. This report estimates costs for removing the two most significant sources of lead to be between $1.52 billion and $4.12 billion over 20 years. Estimated benefits associated with removing lead from water include improvements in population mental acuity and IQ (and resulting increases in lifetime productivity, earnings and taxes paid). The projected range of benefits is $4.24 billion to $8.47 billion over 20 years, although there are a number of reasons to believe these
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