Utah News Dispatch
SLC gets $39 million loan from federal government to replace lead pipes
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff greets Salt Lake City Council members at the City Creek Canyon Water Treatment in Salt Lake City on March 22, 2024. The Biden Administration loaned Salt Lake City $39 million to identify and replace lead water pipes (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch)
More than 9 million homes and businesses in the U.S. receive their water through toxic lead pipes, an “unacceptable” fact, said second gentleman Doug Emhoff in his visit to Salt Lake City on Friday.
Government health agencies agree no level of lead is safe for humans.
That’s why the Biden administration has granted a $39 million loan to Salt Lake City at a 1.5% interest rate — over $19 million of which can be forgiven — to establish a five-year planning and construction project for lead service line inventory and replacements throughout the city’s drinking water system, announced municipal and federal officers at the City Creek Canyon water treatment plant.
“We know that access to clean water can literally be the difference between life and death. So that’s why President Biden and Vice President Harris are investing more than $50 billion to expand access to clean drinking water through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” Emhoff said. “These investments have incredible positive ripple effects across local towns, cities and communities.”
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The administration has also designated $3.4 billion in public infrastructure and clean energy funding in Utah, Emhoff said. That includes bridges, roads, tunnels, broadband expansion and clean water projects.
Salt Lake City also received $36 million to build and retrofit its City Creek Water Treatment Plant as part of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities federal program.
That project is already underway and scheduled to be ready by 2027.
Municipal and Federal officers pose at a news conference at the City Creek Canyon Water Treatment in Salt Lake City during Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s visit on March 22, 2024. The Biden Administration loaned Salt Lake City $39 million to identify and replace lead water pipes (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch)
Salt Lake City’s water utility is the first in Utah to receive funding from a federal revolving loan fund program, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said. It’s estimated Utah’s capital needs to replace 9,000 to 14,000 lead pipes, Emhoff said. Ultimately, the goal is to replace every toxic lead pipe in the country.
“Our service area population is projected to grow to more than 400,000 people by the year 2040, with more than 100,000 service connections,” Mendenhall said. “Every single one of our lines and connections must be lead-free.”
Exposure to lead, a natural element that’s toxic for humans and animals, can affect any organ and system in the body, especially in children, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The lead service line replacement investment would ensure underserved areas in the city, such as the west side, have a safer, more resilient water system, Turner Bitton, chair of the Glendale Neighborhood Council, said.
Tackling those disparities is one of the goals from the federal government.
“All too frequently, the communities that can least afford to live with these ill consequences are confronting them disproportionately,” said Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
The city is conducting a survey to identify lead pipes, especially for those who have homes built before 1950. The city’s Lead and Copper Program has identified approximately 130 toxic lead pipes so far. However, about 60,000 pipes in the network of over 90,000 still need to be evaluated, so that number could be much higher.
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