Hello Ward 8 Neighbours,
Close to 20,000 homes across the City of Hamilton still have lead service pipes, which are found in many older homes built before the 1950s.
With a new tweak to the Property Standards by-law based on staff recommendations, the City is looking towards an eradication of the older lines and providing safer water supplies for all.
For more details, please continue reading below….
On August 11, a change was made to amend Hamilton’s property standards by-law, backed by a staff recommendation, that obligates Hamilton homeowners to switch out their portion of lead water pipes to match the city’s copper replacements.
According to the Hamilton Spectator, councillors were told by John Savoia, a senior advisor, that roughly 20,000 households in the city still have lead services, which could take more than 20 years to replace at the current pace. The new change still requires council’s final approval, which is expected next week.
Coun. John-Paul Danko told the Spectator that the bylaw amendment is a positive step forward:
“This is a portion of the end goal of getting all of those lead services replaced” – Councillor John-Paul Danko
Savoia noted to councillors that partly updated lines pose greater risks to due to a chemical reaction between the newer copper pipes and the older lead ones which cause more corrosion. City-side digging also dislodges materials.
“The idea is that we want to avoid that partial replacement”- John Savoia, Senior Policy Adviser
In November, public works reported it would cost $4.1 million a year to replace the municipal portion of lead lines in Hamilton over 25 years.
Older lines — especially in homes built before the 1950s — can allow toxic lead to leach into drinking water, which poses health hazards particularly for pregnant women and small children.
Under the tweaked bylaw, the obligation for homeowners to replace lead lines only applies when the city has replaced its portion of the pipe or is about to do so.
The plan is for public works staff to encourage residents to trade lead for copper lines before resorting to orders through the bylaw.
Some scenarios, for instance, would not be enforced. An older resident with lead lines and no young children at home wouldn’t necessarily have to do the work. Instead, an order could be issued and registered on title, so that when the property changes hands, it applies to the next owner.
The amended bylaw will also require property owners to deal with leaky water lines.
The Spec notes that between 700 and 800 private lead lines are replaced each year. Roughly 175 to 200 loans are issued to homeowners through a city program to help do those jobs.
Questions or concerns?
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact our office here.