Norwich ― In the 1980s, Norwich Public Utilities replaced all the lead water pipes in its water distribution system beneath city streets, but that work left untouched hundreds of older, privately owned water lines that run from the curb into residential and commercial properties.

Starting in Spring of 2023, the city utility will begin work on an estimated five-year, $5.65 million project to replace the estimated 800 private water lines already identified. A survey of the lines to be conducted early in 2023 likely will identify several hundred more such lines that need to be replaced, NPU officials said.

Last week, the state Bond Commission approved a $600,000 state grant through the state Department of Public Health Drinking Water Revolving Fund to jump-start the project by replacing the first 70 lead pipes that run from curbs into residential and commercial homes.

The Norwich City Council approved a $350,00 water revenue bond in November to be used to plan, design and survey water lines to identify locations of top priority for replacement. NPU General Manager Chris LaRose said that money will be paid for through a combination of state grants and loans paid through customers’ water rates.

Over the next two months, NPU will identify the first 70 lines to be replaced with the state grant, complete the water line surveys and put the construction project to bid.

Public outreach to property owners will be critical, NPU spokesman Chris Riley said, as construction schedules need to be coordinated, including access to private property and into the basements of homes and apartments where the lines will be replaced.

Property owners will be contacted by mail and telephone, and public information sessions with owners are planned for early spring, Riley said.

LaRose said building codes banned lead water pipes in the early 1970s, but hundreds of old lines remain in place in the city’s older housing stock and commercial buildings. In each case, the old lines, either with lead pipes or lead-soldered seams will be removed and new pipes laid in the ground.

NPU officials and state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chair of the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, helped secure the $600,000 grant to replace the first 70 privately owned water pipes. She and NPU officials stressed the importance of the project to public health and safety.

“The funding approved by the State Bond Commission will be very helpful as NPU gets started on a critically important project,” Osten said in a news release announcing the Bond Commission approval. “Getting a head start on modernizing their water infrastructure in Norwich will have public health and safety benefits for generations to come.”

According to information on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, prolonged exposure to lead over time could pose several health risks, including abdominal pain, constipation, depression, distractedness or forgetfulness, irritability or nausea.

Exposures to high levels of lead may cause anemia, weakness, and kidney and brain damage, according to the CDC. Symptoms may go unnoticed if they occur slowly over time. Pregnant women exposed to lead may pass on the contaminant, which can damage the developing nervous system, to their unborn children, the CDC warning stated.

c.bessette@theday.com