Working with a nearly $19 million state loan, Indiana American Water will replace about 4,000 lead drinking water lines at homes in Gary, starting later this spring and continuing through next year.
The work will concentrate on the area bordered by the Borman Expressway (Interstates 80 and 94) on the south, Grant Street on the west, 11th Avenue and Central Avenue on the north, and Louisiana Street on the east.
Gary has one of the highest concentrations of lead service lines in the state, a state official said.
The Indiana Finance Authority is financing the project with a $6 million forgivable loan and a $12.9 million low-interest loan.
The work should begin in April or May and will continue through 2025, Indiana American spokesman Joe Loughmiller said in an email.
Indiana American also will be replacing lead service lines in other areas of Northwest Indiana and across the state, he added.
“We greatly appreciate the support from the State of Indiana as we work to proactively address the long-standing issue of lead service lines across the state,” Indiana American Water President Matt Prine said in a news release. “These funds will make our lead service line removal program even more affordable and speed up our efforts to get the lead out of Indiana once and for all.”
The Indiana Finance Authority provides low-interest State Revolving Fund loans to communities for projects that improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
“With new compliance requirements on the horizon for later this year, Indiana water utilities are looking for ways to expedite the removal of lead service lines in their communities,” Dan Huge, the state’s public finance director, said in the Indiana American Water news release.
He said he appreciates Indiana American Water’s efforts to remove those.
Indiana American Water says it has invested nearly $97 million to replace or remove nearly 30,000 lead service lines in the state — about 54% of the known total.
The company says it was the first water utility in the state to file a plan for lead service line replacement after the Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1519 in 2017. That law included a process for water utilities to get authority to replace customer-owned service lines made of lead.
Indiana American Water estimates that about two-thirds of the estimated 55,000 lead service lines in the state a few years ago were in Northwest Indiana.
The company samples drinking water for lead regularly and provides corrosion control treatment to reduce potential danger.
Indiana American Water’s lead education campaign is at amwater.com/inaw/water-quality/Lead-and-Drinking-Water, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s lead page is at epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead
Tim Zorn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.