HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-02 Transcription Page I
Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas
Staff Present: Fruin,Jones,Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling,Platz, Havel,Knoche, Sovers,
Durst,Hightshoe,Kubly
Others Present: LeFevre,USG Liasion, Monsivais,Alternate Liaison
1. Lead Private Water Service Line Replacement Presentaton
Teague: I will call this meeting to order for the city of Iowa City work session,May 2nd,2023.Welcome
to everyone in the room and,uh,virtually that is watching. Our first item is lead private water
service line replacement presentation, and I will tum it over to staff,our city manager.
Fruin:And I'm going to quickly turn it over to Jonathan Durst,the superintendent of our water division in
public works. And he's going to,uh,walk you through the story of,uh,water distribution lines
and in particular,uh,lead service lines.
Durst: Great. I was going to say,I don't know how to manage the lights in here. All right. Well,today's
conversation is gonna be about lead service lines. I'm sure you've all heard the vernacular lead
service lines before. Uh,so the takeaway here today is that federal law is changing.It will go into
effect in 2024-October of 2024. And,uh,with that law,there'll be a focus on the replacement of
lead service lines in,uh,municipal drinking water systems.Um,service lines are like driveways.
Driveways connect,uh,our residents to the public roads. Service lines,uh,like driveways are
owned by the property owner and connect them to our public water main. Uh,there's a lot of
unknowns with service lines because of that ownership,uh,divide. Uh,but since the '90s,we've
been controlling the chemistry in our system per the federal guidance passed in 1991,and this
first slide here is just,uh,to kinda show you what lead service lines actually look like. So,uh,this
line over here,uh,on the far left,you can see inside of it,it has some white,uh,powder on the
inner diameter. That's actually by design,we control the chemistry in the water treatment facility
in order to be slightly scaling. That means it deposits some calcium carbonate on the inside
diameter to prevent the water from interacting with the materials itself. Uh,the one in the middle
is likely what the lead service lines look like in Flint,Michigan.Uh,when they changed their
source water,they changed their chemistry which made the water corrosive and it began to eat
their pipes and release heavy metals into the water system. And then the one on the end is
actually a new,uh,lead service line. So it kinda gives you an idea of what these actually look
like. And slide 4. So,uh,may go without saying but lead damages the nervous system and is a,
uh,public health concern. So different levels of lead can cause different,uh,uh problems.But it's
important to also realize that there are sources of lead all over the place. So there's lead in paints,
soils,water,outdoor air,consumer products,cosmetics,uh, food,uh,and hobbies,and work You
know,people still today work with stained glass windows and use lead to-to do a lot of their
hobby trades. So there is lead in the world and it's,you know,in a lot of different products. So the
government and public health officials have known about lead for a long time. The,uh,chart on
the left here shows and it doesn't show up so well here.But the,uh,amount of lead,uh,in blood
levels in the United States and the different legislation pass throughout the years. Uh,what may
not be too visible is a couple of very pertinent areas related to water, and that's a lead ban,uh,on
plumbing fixtures in 1986,which actually took effect here in Iowa in 1988.And then also the
Lead and Copper Rule in 1991,which is when we instituted the controls,uh,for corrosion in our
system to make sure that we aren't releasing lead.Um,there's a lot of other,um,legislation in
there for bans of lead in paint,bans in lead in gasoline, etc-etc. On the right is sort of a,uh,high
level timeline of the events of Flint. So in April of 2014,they flip- switch their source water from
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the Flint River,uh,actually to the Flint River. And then they ignored a lot of information they
were getting from their residents. You know,discolored water,bad tasting water concerns with
individuals health,uh,until ultimately they switched back to the Detroit River,and by that time,a
lot of the damage had already been done to their system and ended in a presidential,uh,
declaration of a disaster.Um,from then,uh,we've slowly had legislation coming from the federal
level. The first one was known as the WIIN Act,and that's changed how we publicly notify,uh,
any of our customers should we have a lead,uh,hit on their system.Um,so we already do that. In
2019 of December,we had the lead and copper rule revisions proposed. Those were firalized in
2020,but then the new administration took,uh,control of the situation. They put an
administrative hold,they wanted to review those,um,and so the enacting of that rule has been
somewhat postponed,uh,by that.And the Biden administration has also announced that they will
be doing a Lead and Copper Rule improvement. So the vernacular here is LCRR for Lead and
Copper Rule revisions,which were done during the Trump administration and the LCRI which is
currently,uh,being done with the Biden administration.In-between there they had to bi-partisan
infrastructure law which did apportion some funds for lead service line replacements in
communities. All of that to say is that there's a big change coming,and the first,uh,kind of mark
there is October 16th of 2024.We have to,uh provide to our state regulators,uh,complete
inventory of service lines in the city of Iowa City,uh,in order to,uh,better understand how many
lead service lines we actually have. And then 30 days from that date,we also have to notify all of
those customers with either suspected or known lead service lines,uh,that they have a suspected
or known lead service line. And that has to go to both the tenants and the property owners. So to
kinda get a feel for how,uh,big this change is,here's a portion of the table provided to us,uh,
about how it currently looks versus how it's going to look,and this is actually a six page
document. Uh,the takeaway from it is- is essentially it's creating,uh,an environment where your
lead sample results are going to be higher.Most communities are likely going to exceed the
trigger level that is being instituted or the action level that currently exists. And when you exceed
either of those marks,there's requirements for lead service line replacements. So,uh,all that's to
say is we will likely have to have a,uh,program in place in order to facilitate homeowners
replacing their lead service lines. So how have we done so far over the years? So since 1991,
we've been sampling.Uh,after the first few,uh, sample sessions of about 60 homes,uh,we
qualified for reduced sampling due to the low level of our results. Um,the way this works for
lead sampling is you can't just sample the public water main.You actually have to go into
people's homes. Uh,you have to have them stagnate their water for a period of time and you have
to draw the first liter of water from a faucet or other,um,point where they can actually use the
water for a drinking purpose. So arranging these samples is somewhat difficult.You know,
people don't want you in their home at 04:00 AM or 5:00 AM whenever they wake up so they can
get on with their shower. So a lot of times we have to,uh,train homeowners on how to perform
these samples,make sure that they're correct and accurate. The other thing we have to be certain
of is,uh,what we call tertiary point-of-use systems aren't in place. So that's has like a water
softener or RO (Reverse Osmosis)unit and whatnot. That can drastically change the chemistry of
the water that we're putting towards their home. So we don't wanna sample downstream from
those because they can make their water more corrosive and eat the pipes in their home as well.
So we try to get representative samples of the water that we're producing at a point in a person's
home or they're using that water for drinking. So over the years,you can see,uh,this chart here.
Uh,each of these triennial sample periods,the samples are kind of stacked above them,and the,
uh, sample that has the black X on it is the one that's considered our 90th percent sample. So the
90th percent sample essentially means we're sampling 30 uh points. So,uh,90 percent,in this
case,or our 90th,uh,percent sample would be the fourth highest sample. And that's what that X
represents is the fourth highest sample.You can see I had to put some out layers on here.You
know,there's a 67 parts per billion,there's 140 parts per billion.Every time we get a sample
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that's,uh,quite excessive,we do investigations inside the homes and,uh,we've seen everything.
Well,I haven't seen everything but some of the staff who ve been here for 30-some years,have
seen everything but,uh,a number of these samples,uh,and the lead that's caused,uh,or in them
isn't actually from a lead service line. A lot of times what we see is there has been some sort of
home improvement.Maybe some valves got cut and pipes got disturbed. In one case there was a,
uh,pipe that was contacting an HVAC duct,which was causing an electrical connection between
the two and corrosion in the pipe. So if we slipped a piece of paper behind it and cleaned the
aerator out we essentially had no lead in their system. So it is very,um, case-by-case. There is no
magic bullet for this.Um,all homes could have a potential to have some sort of errant material in
them.We've even seen a,uh,rather well-to-do customer,uh,change out the faucet in their
kitchen with a nice big brass faucet.And we got a very high lead sample from that and had to
recommend to them,you might want to get rid of this faucet because it seems as though that the
materials are not low lead. So,um,they kind of affects everybody across the board,uh,as we go
forward. So,uh,on here,the other thing to note is that the dash line shows the existing action
level.Exceeding that would,uh,trigger,uh,with the Lead and Copper Rule revision a,uh,3%
replacement rate for lead service lines in the system. The one that they're adding with the Lead
and Copper Rule revision is the 10 part per billion trigger level. If you exceed that,then you have
to negotiate with the state your replacement rate,uh,with all the other changes with the Lead and
Copper Rule revision. And you can already see,you know,we're batting about 50%here between
the,uh, 10 and 15,uh,parts per billion line,it's more than likely that we will have to have a lead-
a lead service line replacement program available to our customers. So,uh,this kind of goes over
a few of the things I just said. Um,one of the key takeaways here,is there such a thing as an
unknown lead service line or a lead service or unknown.And those lead service unknowns count
towards our total as lead service lines,whether it's known or unknown,they consider it to be led.
And if your replacement rate is 3%and maybe only one in 10 of the unknowns is actually lead,
uh,an unknown does not count as a replacement if it turns out to not be lead. So that can cause
you to have to dig,you know, 10 times as many service lines just to find enough service lines to
actually replace because some of them may not actually be lead.We don't have a lot to go off of,
uh,when it comes to what the materials are underground.And the best way to find out is to dig
them up and look. So,uh,a little bit more about service lines and our system and the sources of
lead in drinking water. So,uh,what we have over on the right side is a graphic that was
developed for us. I don't know how many years ago,but somebody actually hand-drew that and
we've had it ever since and it's been very,uh,nice.And other communities have asked us for it
over the years. So we've always helped them out by giving it to them.But anyways,uh,on that
graphic,all of the blue is the property owner's responsibility. So you can see from the main all the
way into the home minus the meter,is considered private infrastructure. Again,just like a
driveway. Your driveway brand goes over the sidewalk right up to the home. Again if that
driveway gets damaged,the expectation is that the homeowners repairing it. Same thing here with
the service lines. So when service lines show up broken,we end up going out to the homeowner
and telling them they have a broken service line and it needs to be replaced.We ask them to
replace it within 72 hours.Uh, service lines that are broken,uh,provide a point in the system
where bacteria or other debris could enter the potable water system. So for us,it's very important
that these get fixed,uh,just in case something happens in the system to cause back siphonage. So
any sort of pressure upset and whatnot could actually cause water to be sucked into the system
and then shut down the main and then enter other people's homes. So we're very,um,you know,
on-point when it comes to getting service lines replaced.And it's very difficult for homeowners
because a lot of times they don't understand that they own the service line and what it takes to
replace a service line. Some homes have service lines that are quite long,or maybe the water
mains on the other side of the road and it runs under,you know,the boulevard of Iowa Avenue
and it's going to cost a lot of money to repair. So every water main or every service line is
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actually quite case-by-case.A little bit about service lines just to kinda get a feel here. So,uh,the
vernacular,so to speak the language,we say box a lot,but it's really not a box,it's more of a tube,
but bear with me.Uh, so on the,uh,water main itself we have what we call a tapping saddle.
That's a device that actually clamps around the water main and it has a threaded port. And what
we do is we screw what's known as a corporation stop into that.And that's actually just a small
quarter-turn valve. And what we do is we screw in our tapping machine and we tap through that
corp into the water main. And then we let the water main blow the water back out with all the
swore from cutting into the main and then we shut the corp off. From there,the contractor will
hook on the service line and,uh,run it to what's known as the curb stop,which also has a stop
box. Again,this is another quarter-tum valve and the stop box is actually just a tube that allows us
to reach down to that valve and tum it on or off. From there,the service line runs into the home
and connects to the water meter. So again these,uh,lengths materials,all of that can be very
different. Some of the homes here in Iowa City,you know,built in 1900,you know,water system
here, started in 1882. Uh,so there can be quite the Frankenstein of materials underneath the
ground. It may have broken a few times in the years maybe somebody came in and spliced in two
feet of copper. Another person galvanized iron on this side. It-it can be quite,uh,the spaghetti
mess down there when it comes to what materials are being used. So that's why it's-it's hard for
us to determine what materials are actually being used because a lead service line is essentially
any service line containing lead. If it's got two feet of lead in it,it's a lead service line. So,um,
it's- it's important to-to-to be as accurate as we can. Um,with that and back to the,uh,topic that
uh lead service lines are not the only source of lead. The EPA has this,uh,graphic here that kind
of points out that galvanized pipe exposed to lead can actually complex with lead and harbor it.
So any disruption of a galvanized pipe that was exposed to lead can cause a lead release. That's
also in the Lead and Copper Rule revision.If any,galvanized iron line and the service line was
exposed to lead at any time in its history it's also to be considered a lead service line. Uh,so
galvanized iron pipes can also exist inside the home. There's also copper pipes with lead solder
like we discussed earlier,uh,the lead band,he and I we didn't go into effect until 1988. So homes
built between about 1950 and 1988 have a very high chance of having,uh,lead solder in their
system.In fact,we just had,uh,in the last month,a customer whose home was built in 1987,
tapped on a main that was installed in 1984. They replaced one valve in their home and they
ended up having a 31 parts per billion,uh,lead sample,which is double,you know,about
doubled to 15 parts per billion action level. We went back to investigate. We pulled apart their
kitchen faucet sure enough we found chunks of metal stuck on the aerator screen.We dump that
out.We took another sample.We're still waiting for those results,but likely is not that was what
was causing the high lead. So in no case did they have a lead service line. They just had stuff
come off the inside of the pipes in their home,get into their aerator. So,uh,it's- it's important to
know that because even if we can get all the lead service lines out there,still,a lot of public
education that needs to occur with,uh,homeowners about how to maintain your plumbing things
to look for,how to flush your system out and clean your faucets. So our public water distribution
system has about 280 miles of water main,uh,a group of seven individuals very dedicated to the
repair of our water mains,do that all year round. I'm sure you've all seen the water main break
notices and whatnot and they do a fantastic job. So I can't say enough good things about the
dedication they have for that work.But conversely,there's about 500 miles roughly 500 miles of
privately owned service lines in Iowa City. Some facilities,like our large industrial facilities,
have giant fire service systems that wrap around the whole building,have multiple hydrants,etc.
So there-there's quite a lot of private infrastructure connected to our public infrastructure in fact,
almost double. Annually we have about 20-24 service line breaks.And again,most homeowners
aren't aware of their service line. They don't know what-where it is,why they're being told they
have to fix something,etcetera etcetera. So it can be very much a hardship for them when their
service line breaks. And we try as much as we can to help them through the process of contacting
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contractors,making sure they're getting a fair price,making sure that the work that's being
performed is appropriate.But right now,you know, service line breaks and it's lead. We don't
have any teeth to tell them it has to be replaced. So in fact,just today I was informed of another
property who had a lead service line repaired rather than replaced. And one of the things that the
Lead and Copper Rule revision is definitely no bones about.Is that a disturbed lead line is the
worst kind of lead line.Because when it's not disturbed, a lot of times that nice layer on the inside
helps protect that line from anything.But when it does become disturbed,that's when you get the
release of particles that can get caught in the aerator and whatnot. So a damaged lead service line
is basically almost a guarantee that somebody is going to be exposed to very high levels of lead.
So when a homeowner ops to not replace their lead service line and rather just get a repair.We try
to coach them on how to clean their aerators and flush their system and minimize as much as
possible any exposure to lead in their drinking water.But ultimately it's their infrastructure,their
choice,their pocketbook,they're assumed risk And that's the way it works. So right now we are
working on that lead service line inventory. On the left is kind of a snapshot.What you see there,
the ones that we've already designated as lead service unknown or the dark reds which we know
have lead service lines. This will have to be publicly available on the city's website come October
16th.We will probably put it on there such that somebody could just zoom in and click on our
parcel and know what tier level it's in and what that means.Right now,we started at about 10,000
lead service unknowns and as we've collected,meta-metadata on each of the parcels,build year,
TAP card records,etcetera etcetera.We whittle that down to about 3,000 lead service unknowns
and about 100 confirmed lead service unknowns or lead service lines.We have some more data to
get through.We're hoping to get that lead service unknown down to about 2,500.But an
important thing to kind of note about this map and what we've seen in the field is that pretty much
homes built before 1950 have a very much-it's a relatively higher likelihood of having a lead
service line than homes built after 1950,after 1950s-1988,we see a lot more of the copper lead
solder type plumbing and service lines. So with that,you can see the area on the right shows
1950s water main.And those dashed lines are actually 1950s water main that we've abandoned
and replaced.But there's kind of an easy box here to think about in terms of where lead service
lines are most likely.And that box is bordered by Sunset,Whiting,First Avenue,and Highway
Six. That box kind of comprises the 1950s footprint of Iowa City and coincides with where our
1950th vintage water main is. So back to the federal bipartisan infrastructure law and did have
money that could be allocated to states to be distributed through the state revolving fund for
service line replacements. Forty nine percent of that supposed to be forgivable to disadvantaged
community.And disadvantaged communities are tied to census track information where you have
to score above a certain level in order to be considered a disadvantaged community. There's a
more granular widget that they're working on,but as of now,that's not available to us,but Iowa
City currently scores 12 on the existing,which is under the 15 needed to be considered a
disadvantaged community. So it makes it unlikely that these loans through the state revolving
fund would be eligible for forgiveness to the City of Iowa City. So problem statement,as we've
discussed,things are changing. As of October of 2024,the copper rule revisions or improvements
are going to be taking effect. It's going to have us address privately owned service lines and have
those replaced at significant cost regardless of ownership. Some communities such as like
Madison,Wisconsin have already started down the path of trying to get lead service lines out of
the system going so far as to shut people off if they're unwilling to have their service lines
replaced in order to force that to occur because of the amount of cost that it would cause the
system to have to do other treatment methods in order to keep one or two service lines from
corroding. Presenting today a few options,you know,the first option here is apply for these SRF
loans tried to conduct large infrastructure projects and packing them in historical areas and
streets. The SRF funding would not cover pavement repairs or internal plumbing work, and each
property owner in that area would have to agree to this work.Again,we can't just go on to
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people's property and tear it up without temporary construction easements are other sorts of
permissions from them. Second one here is what I like to call the three-legged stool. Because of
three-legged stool means all legs in order to function. So that's to promote what's a National
League of Cities Service Line Insurance Program that's administered through Home Serve.
Update our municipal code to ban the repair of lead service lines and require full service line
replacements and create a cost-share program for the verification of an or replacement of lead
service lines. And then the last one is to essentially generate enough fimding through rate
increases in order to do a intensive and extensive multiyear CIP process. So essentially paying for
option one ourselves instead of trying to get SRF loans.It's also important to know that SRF
loans have a lot of bureaucratic necessity as associated with them and incurrying departmental
reviews and other sorts of needs. So our recommended option is Option Number 2,the three-
legged stool. And so with this is the National League of Cities HomeSery Service Line Insurance
Program and public education component. I'll get into each one of these in a little bit more detail
here shortly.Uh,the code change to prevent lead service line repairs and make sure that they're
being replaced and developing a cost-share program to provide the resources to homeowners who
want to be proactive and either verify and or replace their lead service lines without waiting for
them to break or otherwise become manifest in their lives. So,uh,the first part of that is the
National League of Cities service line program. So this is,uh,essentially an insurance. The way it
works is that we,as the City,would pass a resolution to,uh,enter a marketing agreement with
them. So it doesn't cost the City anything to have this happen except our letterhead. The way that
works is we,uh,help craft these messages that will be mailed to our customers to say this service
line insurance program is available. Here's the cost. You may want to consult your current
homeowners insurance to see if it's available through them at a competitive rate. Um, and this is
why it's important.You have a sanitary sewer service. You have a water sewer service-or water,
uh, service. These can become damaged. These are owned by you,and if they do become
damaged and need to be repaired,the cost can be significant. So at a,uh,premium of about,I
believe the last time I checked with them,it's $748 a month,you could potentially have,uh,your
service lines covered,uh,in case of any sort of damage and need of repair. So, again,it's a
marketing approach. There's no cost to the city,other than helping out with what those mailers
look like and making sure they're appropriate and the message is what we want our customers to
hear. We can back out at any time. We can also opt into getting a royalty payment from them for
the use of our letterhead.Uh,that money could be,uh,I believe up to about$10,000 which could
be fimneled into the cost-share program to help people replace or verify if they have lead service
line. Uh,here's kinda some details about what the,uh,sewer or water service line coverage
provides. So each one would be its own,uh,premium,you know,7-8 bucks. If a qualifying event
occurs,they would get$8,500 without a deductible to affect the repair to their service line. We
see,uh, a range for service line replacements.Now,the-most of the time we see at around
$8,000410,000,uh, for service line replacement.But the-the total range we've seen is between
about 5,000-30,000. Uh,the 30,000 is the very high-end and that involves a lot of pavement
repair. Anyways,uh,one of the biggest benefits to this is the 24/7/365 hotline. So when we
inform customers that they have a service line that needs to be repaired,it's very much kind of
feeling as though they've been caught flat-footed and we give them a list of contractors they can
call,but then they're stuck,you know,trying to call three or four different people if they want to
be,you know,diligent to get quotes and then figuring out when they can get out on site,you
know,etc, etc,etc. Well,this program,that's these contractors provides a single number to call
and the prices are already negotiated. So it really helps out the homeowners and it would really
help us out as well to have that hotline available,uh,because it just takes so much stress away
from the homeowners and also from us in order to find the correct service provider to get the
work done that needs to be done in a timely manner.Uh,I would say by and large,that is the
hardest part for homeowners is just feeling comfortable getting the quote and getting the service
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done,uh,at the cost,uh,that a lot of these can-can cost at. I mean,you just don't want to throw
money away and hope that the person is doing it correctly. They also offer internal plumbing
insurance.Uh, so this is another separate one. The premiums for this are higher. They're about
$10 a month and the coverage is $3,000 per incident. So these are the three programs that we
could,uh, advertise to our customers,along with public education component about what service
lines are,the health effects of lead,whether or not they have lead service lines.We can package
all of that together and provide it to our customers. This program is,uh,endorsed by the National
League of Cities,as well as the Iowa League of Cities in many communities and Iowa are
already,uh,participants within it. So some of the surrounding communities here,West Branch,
uh,West Liberty,Tipton use it.Des Moines Water Works,which provides,you know,water to
the entire municipal area there,uh,participates in this program. So it's been around.It's been
useful. There's good reviews from the other communities. Uh,and it would very much help our
customers as we approach this lead and copper rule revision. Code changes are a bit
straightforward. Add some definitions about what a lead service line is.Make sure we define
what a full lead service line replacement is. Tie that to the state and federal code, so we don't have
to change it often when things change at that level.We just make sure it stays there. Uh,the next
part there essentially says if a-a lead service line becomes damaged,it can't be repaired. It has to
be replaced.Uh,and kinda go through all the little bits on that. And then the last part there talks
about when we do public improvements that we would replace the portion of the service line in
the right-of-way to the stop box and inform the customer if we find anything,whether galvanize
exposed to lead or lead downstream from this stop box and give them the opportunity to replace
the rest of the line into the home.We're already doing that.We've done it with Olive Court and
University Heights. We have provisions in the Court Street,uh,reconstruction.We have
provisions in the Fairfield reconstruction that's about to kick off here soon. So this is something
we're already doing,but it's just putting it into code that this is what we will do when we're doing
public improvements on the water main,is we will replace the section of,uh,service line in the
right-of-way. And then the last bit here is kind of the conceptual understanding of what this cost-
share program would look like. The actual details are,you know,yet to be determined,but,uh,
there would be two components,a verification dig,and then the actual replacement. So,again,we
wouldn't know for sure on lead service unknowns if it's actually a lead service line until we dig it
up. So a verification dig would be an opportunity to dig the,uh, service line at the stop box and
two feet to either side, so we can make sure that it wasn't just a new stop box spliced in with a
couple of feet of copper. We want to see it either side. So we would have one of our customer
service staff observe that verification dig, figure out what the materials are on the other side of
that. And then if it turns out to be lead,then this customer would also qualify for the,uh,
reimbursement on the lead service line replacement side of things. So a verification dig,we
would say 50%up to 3,000. For the service line replacement,we would say,uh, 50%up to 5,000.
We would move away from,you know,having to replace any fences or plantings and things like
that. That would be on the homeowner,uh,to-to repair that if they were disturbed during the,uh,
service line replacement. We would keep ourselves to,uh,paying for the service line costs and,
you know,pavement or others,uh,built surface restoration processes.But again,that's the
conceptual understanding of it at this point,is to again,provide resources. So the reason this is the
three-legged stool,banning the repair of service lines could put hardship on some folks who don't
have the money to replace their service lines. So having that service line insurance program there
would give them the opportunity at a low premium cost to then have access to those resources
should they have to replace that service line.We also have the resources available to our
homeowners through this cost-share program if they want to be proactive.We're going to be
notifying these homeowners annually that they have either a potential lead service line or a
known lead service line and that's going to get people,you know,worried and they're going to
want to take some action. So this gives them an opportunity with our help to take that action at a
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reduced cost to find out what truly is underground and give them the peace of mind going
forward. So those three components give our customers the resources they need to make good
decisions with regards to their private service line. So next steps,uh,you know,we would look to
make an ordinance change to ban lead. We would have an effective date on that to hopefully
coincide with the,uh,availability of the National League of Cities Service Line Insurance
Program and then adopt that resolution to begin that process and that public education to people.
Here's what's coming. You know, lead service lines are not going to be allowed to be repaired
anymore.We'll have these opportunities available for you through a cost-share program and in
this insurance program as we proceed. In October of 2024,we'll have the results.But before that
event,if you have concerns,contact the water division.We already do,uh, free lead sampling for
our homeowners. If they have a concern,we'll work with them. We'll train them on how to do
that. We'll drop a bottle off in the morning or in the evening and then pick it up the next day from
them and run it out to the state hygienics lab and get the results. If it's high,we give them results
right away. We work with them to flush their system and again,investigate to find out why that
may have been high. So all of that would wrap together and move us forward. Questions?Thirty
six minutes.It's a lot to go through.
Harmsen: Thank you.A couple of quick questions.Just to make sure the-the insurance program listed on
the slide,if they are damaged,that includes not necessarily damaged,but need a repair or
replacement.
Durst:Right.
Harmsen:Did I miss that?Just-just to make sure that it was a qualifying event would be if the direction
of right,there's some sort of damage to the service line in need of repair. Okay.I think I had
another question on here you may have answered.Um,and then concerned residents,they can
request testing as well. I know you have to the-you recruit years but in the meantime,like,as we
start this education campaign,um,if a resident says,hey,you know,Ibe got an older house,can
you come to my house? Some- something that the city does.
Durst: Yes.
Harmsen:Does it come at a large fee? Small fee?No fee.
Durst:No fee.My sister was concerned, she contacted me and we worked that out for her to.
Harmsen:And there anything. So when it's owner-occupied,that's-that's fairly clear cut.
Durst: Yeah.
Harmsen:What about for rental properties? So,um,detection of some of these lines in some of older
buildings that also our rental properties here in the city. How do we interact with that because we
could potentially have not five people,um, exposed.It could be 200,you know,something or 20
or whatever.
Durst: Yeah. So one thing about lead service lines is they're not a large diameter service lines. So,uh,
large,you know,multi-story,multi residential properties typically have service lines that are
larger than two inches and we already know that those won't be lead.But some of the rental
properties,as you say,that have multiple tenants within them,we always try to interact with the
property owner as well as the tenants to inform them of what's going on. And the Lead and
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Copper Rule revision mandates that we have to speak not only to the property owner but to the
tenants. Ultimately,what work does or doesn't get done is up to the property owner.
Harmsen:And then somewhat like the older homes that had been converted into,you know,multiple
residential,those-to me,that would be the ones most likely to have lead service lines.
Durst: Correct. Yes. There are a lot of homes that had been converted that are-have a higher likelihood of
having a lead service line.
Harmsen:And last question,I promise,um,just to be 100 percent clear. Are there any lead in the-you
said water mains a few times,I don't think you meant that those were- are there any- any lead in
any of the water mains or the city-owned part of this system.
Durst:Right. So as far as explicit lead in contact with water,no.But to point out,our system is and does
still operate water main that was installed in 1882,which I-I looked that up. So that was about
the same time the Statue of Liberty was being constructed and before the Eiffel Tower was
constructed. In fact,the same year that the fust home in the United States got a domestic
electricity to it. So with that said,the way they installed cast iron water mains back in the day was
what's known as a leaded bell. So the bell and spigot joints and water main kind of go together
like a hip joint. And so after they push the spigot into the bell,they would melt a billet of lead
into that joint. That joint doesn't contact the water,but it could contact the water over time. That
being said,we know we don't have any lead or detectable lead in our public water mains. So there
are lead materials,but there is no lead in our drinking water.
Hamrsen: Thankyou.
Teague: Just one follow-up to the question that you mentioned about the$8,500. So let's say that
someone-the cost to replace the the pipes is 5,000,but the yard is another 2,000 What that yard
part be covered through this.
Durst: Through the insurance program. That would be a question I would have to ask them,I don't know
off the top my head.
Teague:But that won't be the same question for the 10-dollar additional for. If someone just wanted to
cover the-the water pipes in their home,um,is it only for,you know, stopping-replacing the-the
burst pipe or is it also the dry wall that got wet and.
Durst:Right.
Teague: Insulation,so-.
Durst: Yeah,those are things that we would have to clarify with the insurance provider and make sure
that those details are included in any of that public education and outreach when we provide it to
them.
Bergus: You'd mentioned that we would want to-if we're going to go forward with the three-legged stool
that the kind of the educational component would come before,the code change would come
before,but to make it effective when that rule goes into place in October 2024,do you have a
sense of the time-frame or what you would recommend as far as when to get that underway since
we're I don't know, 18 months out.
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Durst:My personal opinion would be immediately.
Bergus: Okay.
Durst:But in terms of when we can or when that's feasible,uh,I'm not sure,but the sooner the better. The
sooner we have this in place,the sooner we've begun this process of educating our homeowners
so that come October 16th,2024,when we mass mail all of these notifications to people,they
already know what resources are available. They feel like they can have control of this and it's not
something we've just blindsided them with.
Bergus: Thank you
Alter: Following up on the question about the education piece,it's like there's so many layers to this and-
and I feel you've done a great job of-of saying that they'll be,um,information about, sort of,
what may be upcoming and why i.e,you actually own this stuff,right?
Durst:Right.
Alter: Will there also be sort of the-the foundational core,which is the-the laws we are changing and
therefore,like,the-the LCRR,right?I mean,that's the impetus for why this is all becoming law,
right?Am I understanding that correctly? [OVERLAPPING] So yeah. I just wanted to-to,so it's
a piece that I think could be really helpful for whomever is going to be affected is-or impacted is
to say,I mean,this isn't like we just decided you need to have new pipes. It's like this is a new
law that's gone into place,so and that may already be part of the messaging but,um,I think for
some folks,that would be an important piece. Otherwise they would feel that it's just a saying.I
mean,it's a good thing,but they might be oh I can't afford it,you know,what have you. So just
say this is something that is-this is a federal law that's going into effect,could be-.
Durst: I agree with you. Yeah,it would be important to make sure that the-the story here is understood
that this isn't a knee-jerk or some sort of whimsical thing,this has been in the work since
essentially President Obama declared a disaster for Flint,Michigan. This is the outcome from that
and it's finally coming into the fore.
Alter: I did have one other question. I'm sorry.
Durst:No problem.
Alter: Has there been any conversation?I'm just thinking about actually getting the message out and like
once I'm sure that there's going to be multiple iterations of kind of trying to get the education
piece out.But in terms of letting people know like,and here's the program,and here's,you know,
the resources. Um,have you perhaps been in conversation with Johnson County that that could go
in with when property taxes are being sent out?Because that might be a way that people could
actually get it right in hand go.
Durst: Correct,yeah. We could-we probably make use of our utility bill inserts. We fmd those to be very
effective ways to communicate to our water customers.
Alter: Thanks.
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Bergus: I know you had the list of all the other cities in Iowa,but specifically,those that are in Johnson
County,are there- are there others?I'm just wondering if this is something that we've talked with
our neighbors about as far as them implementing,and I'm kind of looking at Geoff.
Fruin:No,I haven't. I don't know if they've considered it or not,but it's something we can certainly do Is-
is coordinate with them.
Bergus: There's value to that,but.
Durst: Yeah,there may be,you know,each community is different,and how they source their water,treat
their water,and when they began as a community and where that kind of nucleus area of 1950s
prior homes are located. So,you know, some of our-this law is-hits everything. So even small
homeowners' associations that qualify as water systems have to do a lead service inventory. So a
lot of the engineers we interact with,you know,they're also their water operator for their small
system,and that'll tell me,well,I got my lead service inventory,complete I'm like yeah 25
homes,great job,man. But-so yeah.Different areas are going to have a different amount of
impact from this-this coming law. So we can defmitely have those conversations with the
surrounding areas to see if they would also like to perform a program like this.When I was
talking to the DNR about what we intended to propose,they were very interested to see how this
works for us because like I said,those SRF loans are tied to kind of like that rubric which you
have to qualify as a 15 and a lot of communities can do that. Plus,you know,the revenues aren't
there to go ahead and just say we're gonna do a$15,000,000 project next year to-to tear up all
these old brick streets and start going into homes built in the 1900s. So having this in place,you
know,empowering our homeowners to make these decisions may actually end up being a model
for other communities in Iowa to use going forward in order to help get their lead service
replacements up to the level they need to. And-and doing this doesn't preclude us in the fixture as
we get more information from looking at some of those other options,you know,doing a CIP or
trying to get some of the state revolving fixed. It's actually on a five-year,uh,uh,spent. So every
year they'll get more money for this particular thing that we can apply for.But right now I think
the best thing for us is to,you know,get these programs in place,get our homeowners feeling in
charge and aware of these situations.
Bergus: So just another question,maybe for Geoff understanding that their recommendation would be to,
you know, start as soon as possible.But what-what might be feasible as far as the timeframe if
people would be,you know,on the lookout for this?
Fruin:Well,I guess I'd want to have some conversations with staff to get too specific,but-but we can do
in for public insu-information about lead in general lead testing services available.We've done
some of that,particularly in the aftermath of Flint. And anytime there's a new story about lead,
you know,we'll get-we'll get more calls and e-mails. So I think we can do some of that basic
stuff now.We still have some homework to do on the insurance program,on designing the cost-
share program,those types of things before we get very specific about that.But advertising that
lead service-le-lead testing is available for your home.Here's who may be at risk based on year
of construction or things like that. Tha-tha-that's stuff that we can do right away,um, and
probably that we've done in the past and can be easily repackaged.
Bergus: Thank you.
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Teague: You know,if someone,um,can get a higher level of funding back so there's one fee so far,is
what I'm understanding,for the insurance cost where they can get up to$8,500?Let's say
someone knows that they hit,you know,$60,000 worth of destruction-
Durst: I know one that probably does.
Teague: - Or-or$30,000,right?That's the upper-the upper end.
Durst: Yeah.
Teague: Could they get a higher,um,are there tiers that they can get for a higher level of funds when-
when something happens?
Durst:Right,uh, so I'm not aware of any higher levels of coverage for the National League of Cities
program.But that I think is why one of the key points in the,uh,public education is to say,you
know,look at your,uh, system, call us,maybe we can provide you some more information,and it
may be best for you to talk to your current homeowners' insurance provider to see what they have
available for you if you know there's a larger liability than the$8,500 that this program provides.
Teague: Sure. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? Thank you so much.
Fruin: So,Mayor,I think our intent in presenting to you today was just awareness,first of all,but also to
give you a signal,the path that we're going down with the three-legged stool approach. If you at
any time you want to have a follow-up discussion on any of those things,let us know,but that's
where we're moving as this deadline is drawing closer and closer.
2. Clarification of Agenda Items
Teague: Thank you. All right.We'll move on to item number two, clarification of agenda items.
Bergus: Just to give you a heads-up,Mayor,I will be recusing myself from item,I don't have it in front of
me,I think it's 8A,the Oaknoll Area rezoning.
3. Information Packet Discussion (April 20,April 28)
Teague: All right. All right.Any other items?All right. We're going to move on to Information Packets
April 20th.
Fruin:Mayor maybe I can put it on your radar and the council's radar coming up in-in the past the council
has,um,considered reduced meeting schedules in the summer,um,really that's your-your can
I'm not-I'm not trying to push you in that direction but it is helpful for staff to have a few months
of planning particularly when we,um, are thinking about capital projects schedules and public
hearings schedules so maybe for the next meeting or-or sometime here this spring you guys can
discuss that.
Bergus: I think-do we have a somewhat reduced summer schedule already?
Fruehling: July has one meeting.
Fruin:Already-we already covered that my apologies.
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Teague: Yeah.
Fruin: Okay,thank you.
Teague: Yeah,we kinda went through the entire year.
Bergus: That's what I thought,okay.
Harmsen:Yeah-yeah.
Taylor: Yeah,a big schedule.
Bergus: We liked how it went last year.
Fruin:Wonderful,thank you. Sorry about that.
Teague:But-but I think it's still-it's good to mention if there's anything that's changed for anyone you
know If we need to move that date around I think we're open to doing that. So check your
calendars,look at the dates that we have said and,um,if there's any conflicts for any councilor let
us know.
Teague:Moving onto April 28th,Information Packet.
Thomas: Um,IP3 is-Andrew contacted me and asked if I-he's not able to come to the work session and
he'll-he'll be with us for the formal session but he asked if I would pass on the issue of the
chicken ordinance,good old chicken ordinance,um,I guess he's been talking to councilors and I
think the city attorney with Eric about this and,um, asked if I would request that it'd be put on a-
put up you know on the work session list as a topic of discussion.
Teague: So [OVERLAPPING].
Taylor: That will be agreeable.
Harmsen:Yeah.
Teague: Yeah. All right,we'll put on the list. Anything else from April 28th Information Packet?
4. University of Iowa Student Government(USG)Updates
Teague: All right,we're going to welcome up USG,The University of Iowa Student Government with
their updates.
Alter: Anew person.
Teague: We have a new person so maybe they'll be an update there.
LeFevre: Oh yeah,there will be. Hey council. So first off we will get out of the- finals week is next week
so students will be ending the semester after that week.Um,most students will be leaving
Wednesday and Thursday,um,but anyone who stays in town will be staying. I will be staying. So
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you'll see me over the summer a little bit in order to get my stipend and in order to just
understand that-the council itself.Um,this is also the fust week of the new administration under
Mitch Winterlin and Carly O'Brien,they will be coming to a couple of city council meetings too,
so I'm sure you'll see some of the administration here like you did last week and,um,we have a
new deputy city liaison which is amazing.Matthew Monsivais and I'll have him,um, introduce
himself here.
Teague: Welcome.
Monsivais:Hello,good afternoon councilors. It's very lovely to meet all of you for the first time.My
name is Matthew Monsivais,I'm a fust year at the University of Iowa studying Political Science
with a minor in rhetoric and persuasion on the pre-law track with a certificate in political risk
analysis.My hometown is Ankeny,Iowa- from the Des Moines area if you guys are familiar with
that and,um,I'm also a tour guide for the university. So that's also a really fin part of what I do.
I'm looking forward to meeting all of you individually and working with you.
Teague: All right.
Monsivais: Thankyou.
Teague: Well,welcome welcome.
LeFevre: Of course,and then that's it. So thank you guys so much and yeah see you in two weeks.
5. Council Updates on Assigned Boards,Comissions,and Committees
Teague: Well happy fmals week. All right,Item 5 is council updates on the sign boards,commissions,
and committees.
Taylor:Well,I guess we could do that at this point,um,Councilor Harmsen and myself are in the Rules
Committee and we met recently,we don't have to meet very often but we did because one of our
charges is bylaws from committees and I think it's 6i is what we saw you are presented with the
results of-of the planning and zoning re-revised bylaws which they-they pretty much went by
just to be consistent,particularly with,uh,the,um, speakers and to coincide with-with our rules
for speaker guidelines and those kinds of things and just to clarify a few- few other little points in
their bylaws because they hadn't lifted with them for awhile.
Harmsen:Yeah,just kept few minor language changes to make sure that our language was correct.
Looking at some of the electronic meetings which of course we've all come to appreciate over the
last couple of years and so just kind of does-does those updates and so we looked at those and-
and recommend those changes for the full council.
Taylor: One thing that was discussed on that line was a-our persons that are attending via Zoom even if
their council committee members, commission members are they allowed to vote and I -and I
believe it was decided that-that they-they would not be counted as far as the quorum to-to be
voting.Do you remember that Eric on what,what we decided on?But I remember there was a
discussion on that as far as Zoom meetings and whether you're actually physically in attendance
or on Zoom.
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Goers:Right.I'm-I'm sorry I guess I'm a little foggy on the discussion.I remember there was some
discussion about whether they would be part of the quorum.
Taylor:Right.
Goers: And-but certainly they could vote.
Taylor: Okay.
Goers: Yeah and maybe we're on the same page.
Taylor: A determined quorum versus in-person versus right?
Goers: Yeah.
Taylor: Yeah,okay.
Teague: So I'm assuming that the majority would have to be-there would have to be a majority present-
Taylor: Physically present.
Teague: -in order to be quorum.
Harmsen:Yeah,I-I can just read the Section 5 with the unchanged part. "A majority of the members of
the commission shall constitute a quorum",um,and then struck out the phrase at any meeting.
The new part reads as follows, "Unless an electronic meeting is allowed pursuant to Iowa Code
Section 21.8,the quorum must be physically present. Where a quorum is present,electronic
participation by those members not physically present may be coordinated on a case-by-case
basis upon requests." So there needs to be a physically present quorum,uh,if somebody were to
say you know I'm-I'm traveling or something like that and the rest of the-rest of the PNZ decides
that that's okay for them to participate then,then they have that door open.
Teague: It's awesome.
Bergus: I have an updated just from this aftemoon,The Better Together 2030,uh,board of directors
convened for the first time. So there was the initial board who voted in the expanded board
which,um,you all had nominated me to represent us on. So,uh,it was about an hour-and-a-half
meeting and,um,if I fall asleep it's because we were at Royceann Porter's Soul Food restaurant
and she fed us lunch.
Teague: Okay great.
Bergus: So we had like entire-entire spread and got to eat that during the meeting.Um,but we just talked
about kind of the Better Together 2030 vision,how that came to be,how it aligns with,um,you
know on the goals sort of identified through the processes that-that resulted in that and,um,of
course we know that it aligns very well with our strategic plan.We're keeping an eye on that. So
it just was a great-um,great first meeting and I think we'll have substantive updates I'm sure
quickly. We did learn a little bit more about the 3D printed house project that-um,that we are
supporting,um,and just yeah. It's very exciting. Things are-things are happening.
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Harmsen:Now I have to ask do they have an update on when the start of that would be or a deadline?
Bergus: The printing itself I think would be this fall.Yeah. The appending apparently,they're going to
Muscatine soon,yet this month and apparently bringing in some materials from Australia
assuming-bless you, assuming that that occurs on time then they will. I think we're next after
Muscatine so.It changes all the time,I understand.
Teague: Any other updates?Hearing none we will adjourn this meeting and be back at 6:00 PM for our
formal meeting.
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