Camden Applies for $6.5M to Help Pay for Lead Water-Line Replacements

CAMDEN – Camden’s lead water-line replacement program, now in the inventorying stage, would begin a pilot project replacing pipes as part of a $6,536,400 federal grant, which City Council in August voted to pursue.

The pilot project would replace 450 property owner’s lead lines free of charge this year and next.

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In a $100-millon project, as many as 13,272 water customers in Camden may need new lines under a 2021 state law requiring the replacement of lead service pipes that carry water into the home.

The service lines nearest the building are owned by the property owner, but the city is not charging individual customers for the replacements.

Costs of replacing the lines that are not covered by outside funding have been built into higher city water rates.

American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, a unit of Camden-based American Water, has been designated for the project, according to Vincent Basari, the city’s communication director.

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American Water in February announced that it was kicking off the line-replacement program, which also includes galvanized steel service lines. A preliminary step included inspecting water lines to determine if lead or lead-related products were used in its manufacture, according to American Water.

CDM Smith, American Water’s contractor, is canvassing the city and conducting in-house inspections.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection last year told TAPinto Camden that it was aware of 143,314 lead lines statewide and that more than 1.1 million other lines in the state were made from unknown materials that needed to be inventoried.

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