Grand Rapids has reduced its inventory of lead service lines from about 27,000 to nearly 16,000—and community outreach helped unlock thousands of those replacements.
Izamar Contreras, an assistant project manager with the City of Grand Rapids, says the Michigan city began developing its proactive replacement program nearly a decade ago as the Flint water crisis intensified scrutiny of lead pipes across the state.
A central challenge was gaining access to private property. Before crews could replace the portion of a service line running into a home, the property owner had to sign an agreement authorizing the work.
Letters sent to homeowners in 2017 sometimes generated concern about why city workers needed to enter their homes. Grand Rapids responded by working through neighborhood associations, attending community events, and explaining the program through social media, email, and neighborhood newsletters.
That sustained education changed the response. Contreras says property owners who receive replacement letters now often contact the city immediately because they understand the program and have been waiting for their lead lines to be addressed.
Grand Rapids still has close to 16,000 lead service lines and roughly another decade to meet its state deadline. Its progress shows that replacing pipes on private property requires more than construction capacity—it requires years of communication that residents recognize and trust.
The City of Grand Rapids is one of 16 honorees recognized by the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e8sKJvBc
Content supported by Environmental Defense Fund, RESOLVE, and Environmental Policy Innovation Center.
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