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Town to use $500,000 DEEQ loan to inventory service lines; first report due this fall
Summary
Councilors heard staff describe a $500,000 loan from DEEQ to begin a lead-and-copper service-line inventory covering about one-third of homes; the first reporting deadline was stated as November and staff said signing the loan after July 1 would defer the first payment to the following budget year.
Town staff told the budget hearing that the town has secured a $500,000 loan from the state DEEQ to begin a lead-and-copper service-line inventory project.
Under the loan staff said contractors will excavate near the meter at individual homes to determine whether service lines are galvanized, copper or lead; the first loan phase will cover roughly one-third of homes and the town will still have many thousands of service lines to identify after the initial phase. Staff said preliminary counts exist from an earlier screening exercise but the town had not begun the excavation-based inventory at scale.
Staff said the first reporting deadline tied to the inventory was in November (year not specified in the hearing). They also told the council that if the town signs the loan after July 1, the first payment would be pushed into the 26/27 budget year, and that one portion of the loan payment could be taken from the current year's budget by adjusting the start date.
Councilors discussed practical questions: whether homeowners must cooperate to photograph or provide information, whether meter-setter geometry will permit identification without excavation, and what portion of replacement costs will be borne by homeowners. Staff said the state recognizes the scope and cost and will accept phased progress.
Councilors asked staff to clarify the number of homes on the preliminary inventory, the reporting requirements for November, and to return with a plan for outreach and contractor scheduling.
