Minnesota to spend $240 million to remove lead pipes across the state

May 17, 20231

Alex Kormann, Star Tribune count

Gov. Tim Walz is presented with an old lead pipe in a glass box by Paul Austin, executive director of Conservation Minnesota, after a bill signing ceremony allotting $240 million to replace lead pipes across Minnesota Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at St. Paul Regional Water Services.

Minnesota will spend $240 million over the next decade to identify, remove and replace more than 100,000 lead service lines across the state, the largest single investment ever made to try to eradicate the toxin from the state's drinking water supply.

The proposal, signed into law by DFL Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday, will help fund a statewide surveillance program to identify homes and buildings that might be connected to a lead service line, while also offering grants through the state's Public Facilities Authority to help cover the costs to replace them.

"Why has this taken so long, and why are there still so many in the ground?" Walz said Tuesday outside the St. Paul Regional Water Services office. "It's record keeping. It's about understanding and doing the study necessary to know where these things are at."

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-to-spend-240-million-to-remove-lead-pipes-across-the-state/600275366/