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North St. Paul outlines lead service line inventory, aims to phase replacements starting 2027
Summary
City staff and WSB engineers reported more than 2,000 inspections completed in 2024-25, a statistical update that reduced 'unknown' entries, and proposed a three-phase replacement plan for known lead/galvanized service lines over 2027-29 dependent on state grant funding.
City staff and consultants briefed the City of North St. Paul workshop on the city's lead service line (LSL) inventory and a proposed multi-year replacement plan. Morgan (introduced as the city engineer with WSB) and Justin Babcock, an engineer at WSB, reported that the inventory work began in 2024 and has used GIS, historical document review, door-to-door outreach and in-home inspections to build the database needed to prioritize replacements.
"Replacing lead and galvanized service lines is one of the most effective ways to reduce lead exposure in drinking water," Justin Babcock said, explaining why the inventory and replacements are public-health priorities. He described the inventory's two-part approach — the street side (water main to curb stop) and the home side (curb stop to the residence) — and said the city classifies a service line by the worst-case material where components differ.
Justin said the city completed more than 2,000 inspections between 2024 and 2025 through a mix of public works inspections, resident-submitted inspections and WSB staff visits; those field efforts, plus plat analysis and MDH guidance allowing statistical inference, substantially reduced the number of "unknown" entries in the inventory. He reported 140 service lines currently identified as known lead or galvanized that would be prioritized for replacement.
Staff proposed a three-phased replacement approach to align with typical funding rounds (the drinking water revolving fund) and MDH prioritization criteria: phase 1 would target the known lead lines first, followed by galvanized lines and additional prioritized replacements in subsequent years. Babcock said the city applied for funding for projects in 2027, 2028 and 2029 and that the Department of Health has funds committed through 2027; he said a typical funded project size that the state favors is about $1 million per year, which can cover roughly 50-60 service replacements including engineering, construction and inspection.
Justin also described a potholing (hydro-excavation) verification method for street-side materials and noted North St. Paul had been selected for an MDH potholing pilot this year (one of 36 cities) pending contract negotiations. Council members asked whether replacements could be coordinated with planned street reconstructions to avoid repeated pavement disruption; staff said yes, and that the city typically replaces street-side services during major reconstructions when feasible and updates the inventory as trenches are opened.
Council asked for a zoomable map showing inventory details; staff confirmed the city maintains a more frequently updated map than the state's annual map and agreed to share higher-resolution map files. Staff emphasized that final timing and scope of replacements will depend on grant award priority, available funding and MDH guidance.
No formal council action was recorded during the update; the briefing concluded and the workshop moved to adjournment.
