Cheyenne BOPU Notifying Residents About Possible Lead Pipes

The Cheyenne Board of Public Utitlities [BOPU] is notifying local residents about possible lead water pipes, according to a BOPU news release.

The release says the notices were sent out to customers associated with about 28,000 service line locations in the local water system,

Erin Lamb of the BOPU says the composition of most of the pipes is unknown, and so far only a few lead pipes have been found:

''The majority of letters sent out stated that the status of service line material is unknown at this time.

The few that have been confirmed as lead lines, through our investigation so far, have been contacted separately and we are working with those property owners to mitigate exposure and replace lines.''

According to the release, ''On October 8, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), introducing stricter regulations that require all U.S. drinking water systems to identify and replace lead pipes by 2037. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for providing guidance to drinking water systems to successfully complete this massive undertaking. To comply with the U.S. EPA's LCCR, the BOPU was required to develop and maintain a Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) by October 16, 2024.''

BOPU To Investigate Service Line Materials

The release says the BOPU is in the process of digitizing local service lines, including those made with unknown materials. According to the release,  The next phase of BOPU’s Initiative is to begin investigating service line materials throughout Cheyenne’s water supply system.  We are currently in the process of developing a draft investigation plan that, once approved by the EPA, will be implemented and the BOPU will work with property owners to verify materials.

You can get more information here.

The BOPU says it is working to protect the health of local residents by doing such things as adjusting the PH to help prevent lead from water lines from leaching into drinking water.

You can read more about the effects of lead in drinking water according to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency here.

The agency says children are more vulnerable to the effects of lead in drinking water than are adults ''Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.''

We asked Erin Lamb of the BOPU about the risks of lead in water to local water users. Here is her response:

Lead is almost never present when water flows from the treatment facility. Lead is found in service pipes, plumbing or fixtures and can dissolve, or particles can break off into water and end up at the tap. The exposure risk would be specific to a location not the system as a whole.

The original release says Until 2022, the BOPU did not own or maintain service lines beyond the water main connector. Since then, the BOPU operates as a split ownership utility, meaning it shares responsibility for service lines with property owners. In this arrangement, the BOPU owns and maintains the section of the service line from the water main to and including the curb stop or shutoff, while property owners are responsible for the portion from the curb stop to their home