Oshkosh asks residents to help identify lead pipes

OSHKOSH, WI – (WGBW & WISS) – The City of Oshkosh needs your help to identify lead pipes that could pose a public health risk. And the deadline is this Friday!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) mandated that the city have a complete inventory of all water service lines in the city by the middle of October. 

Steve Gohde, the Assistant Director of Public Works and Utilities General Manager said the pipes they need to complete the database for usually run under the street and connect homes to the public water main. 

Lead and Galvanized Pipes

The city is primarily concerned with lead pipes and galvanized pipes. Gohde said galvanized pipes essentially become lead pipes by just being downstream of lead.

“Galvanized pipe that was ever downstream of a lead pipe, which about 99% of the galvanized pipes in the city probably were, those are also considered lead,” said Gohde. “Because the lead, when it came free from the lead pipe, would adhere to the inside of the galvanized pipe. And it can be re-released later. Essentially making it a lead pipe.”

As the city is coming close to the deadline to have this database for the DNR and EPA completed, it is urging residents to call to make an appointment to have pipe connections to the meter assessed.

“The best thing to do is simply to set up the appointment to have our staff come in and check what your pipe is made out of,” said Gohde. “An appointment takes about 15 minutes. We have appointments available every half hour.  We show up at the time we say. We’re not the cable company!” 

Gohde said knowing how many lead or galvanized pipes they have in city homes will help the city apply for the funding to be used to replace the pipes in the future. If the city doesn’t know for certain what a pipe is made of, it will be forced by the EPA and DNR to consider it a lead pipe, which will increase the number of pipes they will be forced to replace in the near future. 

Homeowners will not have to take any action if a lead pipe is identified. The city just needs to know what the service line materials are.

Book your appointment this week

To book an appointment to have the water service lines inspected at your home visit OshkoshWater.com and click on the big blue button that says “Book an Inspection.”

There is also a link to self-submit photos of the service lines. However, Gohde said, seeing the lines in person is the easiest way to find out if your water service line is lead.

There are four photos the city will need to see to determine if the water service line is lead or not.