City of Lincoln nears 300 lead pipe replacements

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — City officials gave an update Thursday on the Lead Safe Lincoln initiative.

The city has replaced 263 lead pipes since the project began in 2024, according to Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott.

The initiative plans to replace nearly 6,000 lead pipes in Lincoln by 2035.

SEE ALSO: Lincoln about to begin 10-year lead pipe replacement project. Are you eligible?

“Through this initiative, the City is proactively preventing and reducing the risk of lead exposure for our community’s children and families and improving the health and safety of the homes in which they live,” Gaylor Baird said in a press release. “Our work to replace private lead water service lines at no cost to property owners protects our community members’ health and their pocketbooks, as these improvements would otherwise cost homeowners thousands of dollars.”

Pipe replacement work started in July 2024 and has been completed in the North Bottoms, Woods Park and Hawley neighborhoods for all property owners who signed up for the service.

The city contacts property owners via mail and schedules an in-home inspection prior to the work.

Property owners who have homes and businesses built primarily before the 1950s may be at risk of lead contamination.

SEE ALSO: Got lead pipes? Here’s how they’ll be replaced in Lincoln

This summer, the city expanded the program to qualified property owners in the Near South and Everett neighborhoods.

Crews will also continue scheduling and conducting replacements in portions of the Irvingdale, Capitol View and South Salt Creek neighborhoods in 2025 and 2026.

Residents in these five areas still needing a service line replacement are asked to schedule that work now at lincoln.ne.gov/LeadSafe.

SEE ALSO: Lincoln City Council approves $32.6 million loan to replace lead pipes