LEWISTON — The city plans to investigate more than 6,000 private water service lines over the next decade in order to comply with more stringent federal rules on lead exposure.

Last week, the City Council approved the purchase of a vacuum excavation truck that the Public Works Department will use to inspect the lines over the next several years.

As part of updated rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, essentially all water utilities nationwide were required to inventory all water service lines, both public and private, to identify potential lines made of lead or galvanized steel. Existing city records on private lines do not date back very far, meaning the city does not know for sure what a majority of its private service lines are made of.

Over the next decade, cities must rectify that, and replace pipes if needed.

An inventory of Lewiston’s 9,693 service lines found 66 lines made from galvanized steel, which will be replaced due to potential lead risks. Galvanized lines can trap metal and material fragments in crevices, possibly including pieces of lead and other minerals, from existing or previous lead lines directly upstream from it.

The city will need to investigate another 6,351 lines because the material used is unknown.

Erica Kidd, deputy director of Public Works, said the department sent out notices to all 6,351 customers that explained the city does not know what the service line material is for the home.

“Some are very old homes and our records just do not go back that far,” she said.

Public Works Director Kevin Gagne said the truck will help identify the service line material without digging out an entire trench. He said it has the capability to look down and see what the line is made of, making the effort much faster for notifying homeowners if needed.

Gagne said two public works staffers are currently scheduled to conduct the work full time, starting in April.

The city is bonding $587,000 for the vacuum excavation truck, 45% of which will be reimbursed as part of federal funding for the initiative.

According to an Associated Press article in October about the Biden administration’s announcement, the new EPA rule is the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in roughly three decades, coming 10 years after the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Lead, a heavy metal used in pipes, paints, ammunition and many other products, is a neurotoxin that can cause a range of disorders from behavioral problems to brain damage. Lead lowers IQ scores in children, stunts their development and increases blood pressure in adults.

When explaining the project last week, Gagne told elected officials that every water utility in the country is under the same guidelines, and that while the initiative stemmed from the mismanagement of water quality and poisoning of customers in Michigan, Lewiston’s effort is focused on private lines.

A private line is the customers’ line running from the public water line at the street into a home. When asked about potential replacement costs hitting homeowners, Gagne said the state has federal dollars for the project, and that over the next few years a program could be set up to help homeowners offset the cost of replacing lines. The rules do not force homeowners to replace lines, he said.

Gagne said that while the initiative might have customers concerned about lead, he said the best thing homeowners can do overall is run cold water first before drinking. The city has also been conducting water testing in older homes, he said.