FAIRBURY, Neb. - Residents of close to 400 properties in Fairbury were notified in November that their water supplies may have been exposed to lead in their outdoor piping, according to information shared by the Fairbury Water Department both to citizens and to News Channel Nebraska this month. 

Not all of the 400 units were confirmed to have been exposed to lead, but each of them was determined to at least be at potential risk of exposure. For the other approximate 900 units that were not issued notices this month, there is no risk of exposure.  

The potential issue lies in the materials used to construct the pipes that run from the city’s many water mains into the city's properties, not in the content of the water or of the quality of the mains.  

Diagram of a basic service line setup | Provided by the City of Fairbury
Diagram of a basic service line setup | Provided by the City of Fairbury  

Every home and property in the city has a water main that is connected via external pipes to the water meter in the unit. The series of connecting pipes is called a service line, and some or all of those pipes, especially ones installed prior to 1986, could have been constructed using lead or at least galvanized material, which absorbs lead from further upstream. In either of those cases, “people living in homes with a lead service line may have an increased risk of exposure to lead from their drinking water,” according to the notices shared by the city, which reprints national language issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

 

Following nationwide instructions from the EPA, over the last month the city of Fairbury surveyed the service lines of approximately 1,300 homes and properties throughout the city, and broke those units down into four categories, in ascending order of concern: not exposed/safe; unknown material; galvanized material; and confirmed lead service line material.  

“What we did is we went into homes that we could get into, we looked at this little piece of pipe coming in through the wall [of the units], to see if it was made of lead, galvanized, copper, plastic, or anything else,” said Gregg Defrain, Grade Two Water Operator with the City of Fairbury. “And we inventoried all of those, and the concerning ones are the unknown, the lead, and the galvanized.” 

In 1986, the U.S. Congress amended the Safe Water Drinking Act, which prohibits “the use of pipes, solder or flux that were not ‘lead free’ in public water systems or plumbing in facilities providing water for human consumption,” according to the EPA’s website. In other words, the downstream effects of that law for local residents is that any properties that were constructed after 1986 – or have had their service lines repaired or replaced since that date – should be completely unaffected by this month’s notifications.  

“If your home was built after 1986, you’ll have no problems,” Defrain reiterated. 

400 was the approximate number of units that were not deemed to be completely unaffected in this survey. That does not mean all 400 of those properties have been confirmed to be exposed to lead – the city expects the actual number to be much lower – but it does mean that, now that this inventory was completed ahead of November 16, the Water Department’s next steps are to identify and then replace any affected service lines – with the direct help of the affected citizens.  

The city stressed that while the water mains and the quality and availability of the water itself is the responsibility of the city, everything that comes after the water main – in other words, the makeup of the service line and beyond – is the responsibility of the property owner.  

So what comes next for those at risk, or at least potentially at risk? The city of Fairbury must now identify and/or replace all the affected service lines, and they must resolve all of them within the next ten years. Under those EPA mandates, municipalities are expected to knock off at least 10 percent of the initially affected total every year. In other words, if there are around 400 affected units in Fairbury, every year for the next ten years the city must confirm whether 40 service lines from this initial survey do indeed need to be replaced, and then work with the property owner to replace them.  

That’s good news for the affected parties that are in the first few portions of pipes to be ripped out, but what about for those citizens whose numbers won’t be called until a few years down the line? The EPA lists a number of ways to “get the lead out,” so to speak, in their initial message, such as purchasing filtration systems and reverse osmosis, and Defrain says concerned homeowners can work with the city or independently to remove their contaminated pipes themselves right now.  

“As an individual, you’re welcome to replace [the service line], and we encourage it,” Defrain said. “It’s your property, it’s your line. If you’re concerned about your health, you’re more than welcome to contact us – we'll line you up with a plumber, or you can hire your own, whatever you want to do, and you can change that line out.” 

It’s important to once again underscore a couple of key components to this story. First, not all of the approximately 400 units that received notices from the city have actually been exposed to lead. The vast majority of surveyed properties were completely unaffected by these findings. Second, this is not an issue that’s unique to Fairbury: it’s part of a nationwide health and safety mandate, and, indeed, other Nebraska cities have been these notices issued this month as well. And third, the issue, or at least potential issue, lies in the materials used to construct the pipes that lead into homes and properties, not in the quality of the drinking water itself.  

No matter how many homes and properties have actually been exposed to lead or similar materials, it’s unquestionably an issue that poses potential health hazards to those at risk. Defrain encourages anyone that received a notice or has questions about this information to contact Fairbury’s Water Department by email or phone [402-729-3648]. If you have more information or have been affected by this issue, we encourage you to contact News Channel Nebraska. 

“Lead is... not good for you, so the sooner we can get this done, the better,” Defrain stressed.  

Stay tuned to News Channel Nebraska as we provide continuing coverage of this story as it evolves and we learn more.