CAPE MAY — Members of DeBlasio & Associates provided City Council with an update on the progress of the lead service line replacement program Nov. 17.
The city contracted DeBlasio & Associates in October to facilitate planning, public outreach, field investigations and engineering and design work for the city.
In 2021, the state enacted a law that requires all water providers to share with customers the material of the utility-owned and customer-owned service lines that feed their property and notify customers whose service lines are lead or galvanized steel.
The city has 77 utility-owned galvanized service lines and plans to replace them by 2026. It also has identified more than 1,000 customer-owned service lines and will continue working until all lines are identified.
Work began this fall with the field investigation. The design is expected in spring or summer, with construction from fall 2026 through spring 2028.
A presentation on the replacement program, general information, a self-reporting section and email for questions are available on the city’s website under the water/sewer page.
What is a lead service line?
Project engineer Mark DeBlasio thanked City Council for the opportunity to work on the project.
“Lead service lines are a source of lead in drinking water in residential homes,” DeBlasio said, adding that the line is made of lead or service lead connected to a lead pigtail, lead gooseneck or other lead fitting.
If a copper service line has a lead gooseneck, or other fitting, it is also considered lead and must be removed. DeBlasio added that New Jersey took it a step further, identifying galvanized steel service lines as equivalent to lead.
“The city’s lead service line replacement program is sectionalized into four different initiatives,” DeBlasio said. “The first is a planning initiative, second is public outreach, third is field investigation and the fourth is the eventual engineering and design to remove the lead and galvanized services from your system.”
The firm will also be working with the state Department of Environmental Protection to file for technical assistance, which is a grant that would pay for services.
“Hopefully this initiative will all be done at no cost to the city of Cape May,” DeBlasio said. “We are in the process of formalizing that grant application.”
Planning
Once the firm was contracted, it was provided with an inventory maintained by the city’s water department with 4,124 total water accounts. Thirty were identified as lead/galvanized services, 870 as non-lead services and 3,224 as unknown.
“The thirty lead/galvanized services that are on a map are being replaced as part of the [New Jersey Infrastructure Bank] project,” DeBlasio said.
By utilizing inspection reports from previous capital improvement construction jobs and removing non-potable water sources from the inventory, the firm reduced the unknown list by 1,000 accounts.
Public outreach
City Manager Paul Dietrich said notices will likely be sent in the next quarterly water bill.
DeBlasio’s lead service line public outreach expert Andy Ortega said mailers will be sent to all residents with a service line, whether it is lead or of unknown status.
Door hangers may be left at homes if field staff hope to gain access to the crawlspace to identify service line material. The city’s website has been updated to include the latest information, giving residents the option to self-report their line information.
“That record will go to us and then we can use that to update the city’s lead service line inventory,” Ortega said.
DeBlasio said self-reporting is useful for residents who had lines replaced by a plumber.
“You could take a photograph of the pipe coming into your crawlspace or basement, or any type of documentation that helps the city identify the line,” DeBlasio added.
Field investigation
The field investigation portion of the replacement plan includes staff going door to door to inspect residents’ materials.
“They’re going to be wearing name tags [and] be with the city water department personnel, wearing high-visibility vests,” Ortega said. “We don’t want people to be unaware what’s going on and caught off-guard.”
Deputy Mayor Maureen McDade asked if there would be a schedule of where the field staff will be each week, which would help notify people who are not in town full time. DeBlasio said that would be part of the notification process.
“Typically, a water service will enter in a crawl space, [or] in the small chance there is a basement in Cape May or utility closet for a motel or business,” Ortega said. “Our inspection will be quick; they enter the building and take a photograph.”
Ortega added that field staff may put a magnet on the pipe to test for galvanized service. He said the whole process should take about 15 minutes, and the water will not be shut off. It is also completely free; residents do not have to pay for the service.
“If you would like to keep city personnel out of your crawlspace, you can report the service line material at the QR code on the city’s website,” Ortega said.
Next steps
Once DeBlasio identifies the material of all of the service lines, it will begin drafting construction documents to replace lead and galvanized services.
“The replacement of all the lead and galvanized services [will be done] in phases and that will be paid for with a grant by the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank,” Ortega said. “Just like the road program is paying for the water and sewer utility updates, they have a specific lead service line replacement pot of money the city can utilize.”
Mayor Zack Mullock asked if the grant covers replacing the service lines all the way into the house.
“Just to clarify, the technical assistance portion of the grant will pay for our services to do the investigation and prepare bid documents,” DeBlasio said. “The next step would be applying for construction funds.”
Mullock urged residents to comply with the process.
“You’re looking at a free replacement,” Mullock said. “If you were going to do it yourself, it would be more than a $5,000 cost.”
DeBlasio said coordination must be done with residents because lines could run under brick pavers.
“A company we’re working with is a company that does electrical resistance technology,” DeBlasio said. “They can go in through the service line from the meter, run it up the line through the service all the way back into the house. Based on a small voltaic pulse, it translates back to a material.”
He explained that a change in material could be detected, which would streamline and make the process more efficient.
The EP and city are in preliminary talks to conduct a pilot study that would try to determine the efficacy of electrical resistance technology.
If this technology is approved, it would mean the city could determine the material of every water service line in its distribution system without digging a hole on private property.
“The DEP would bring a third-party testing company to test your water before the scoping,” DeBlasio said. “Have the scoping completed, have your water tested afterward to make sure anything that dislodged were OK.”
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave