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Moberly staff to seek $3 million in SRF financing to replace roughly 1,000 lead service lines
Summary
City utilities staff told the council they will apply for a $3 million State Revolving Fund loan and hire staff to inventory and replace an estimated 1,000 lead service lines over the next decade; the council moved the application forward for consideration at its next meeting.
Utilities staff told the Moberly City Council in a work session that they will apply for state funding to begin large‑scale replacements of lead service lines.
Staff said the federal lead and copper rule updates require a final inventory by Nov. 1 and then allow about 10 years to replace identified lead service lines. “Our best guesstimate is roughly 1,000 service lines will be physically replaced from the meter set to the water main,” utilities staff said, and staff recommended applying for a $3,000,000 State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan to finance early phases of that multi‑year effort.
Staff described the method used to estimate the scope: a system audit and a sampling exercise in which crews visited random locations in every ward and found approximately 17% of those sampled showed lead service materials. Staff said they also reduced the projected count by removing known replacements from historic records.
Council members asked how staff would manage the work over time and whether the city could complete replacements using in‑house crews. Staff said the workload and technical requirements make hires necessary: they plan to add a full‑time staff member to identify lead lines and ensure the Nov. 1 inventory deadline is met.
Council and staff discussed financing strategy and timelines. A staff member said state revolving‑fund interest rates are generally low and that staff judged the SRF loan the most practical route at this time; they also said the application window and project scheduling argue for applying now even though the full inventory is not yet complete. As staff put it, the estimate balances available information with what the city can realistically repay over time.
Why it matters Replacing lead service lines is a long‑term, expensive public‑health and infrastructure effort that affects water quality for homes and businesses. The staff estimate of about 1,000 replacements, if borne out, would be a substantial multi‑year program affecting thousands of customers and requiring labor, logistics and financing decisions.
What’s next Council agreed to move the funding application forward to the next council meeting for formal consideration and possible vote. Staff said the engineer’s review and a more complete inventory will be brought back to council with additional cost and scheduling detail.
