Twenty-five McKinney homes still get their water through a privately owned galvanized pipe, and the city wants to pay to replace them.
On Monday, Oct. 5, the City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution creating a Galvanized Service Line Replacement Program and authorizing up to $210,000 to run it. The money was set aside in the city's fiscal 2024-25 budget, according to the Public Works staff report.
Why these lines
The program stems from the Environmental Protection Agency's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which took effect Dec. 30, 2024, and require water systems to replace lead and certain galvanized service lines. Galvanized pipe that needs replacement can hold or collect lead and release it into drinking water, the staff report says.
Public Works reviewed the city's service line inventory and found 25 private galvanized lines that need replacing. The city says it has already replaced every known public line made of lead or galvanized pipe. What remains is the private stretch on each lot, between the meter box and the outside wall of the house.
The resolution notes that while the number of affected homes is small, the risk reaches the whole water system and the two neighboring systems McKinney supplies with water every day.
