The city of Troy continues working to identify and replace all of its lead service lines. And the mayor says efforts are ramping up this year.
“We are being told that the earliest July or August of this year,” Mantello said.
That’s Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello. She says grant funding will not be released until mid-summer, but coordinated work by additional contractors will begin in June. Mantello, who took office in 2024, pledged to replace all contaminated lines in her first four-year term.
So far, more than 400 lines have been replaced, and she plans to get to nearly 1,000 more this year. Mantello says Requests for Proposals are out for potential contractors.
Since inventory efforts began in 2022, the city has logged 60.8 percent of its service lines. It’s important work: lead-contaminated water is linked to ill health effects especially among developing children.
Andrew Golden, Maintenance Manager for the public utilities department, says the city is “potholing” to advance inventory. Golden explains that this procedure does not interrupt water services.
“We're using a hydro excavation truck, which is a very large vacuum vehicle, and we go to where the valve is in the curb, and we do like a one foot by one foot square around the valve in the curb, which exposes both the public and the private side of the pipe,” Golden said. “And then we, you know, we document that in our inventory, and then come back and, well, first we use that inventory to apply for grant funding, and then after that, we go back and do those, the pipe replacement.”
Artificial intelligence is also being used. Golden says using an Excel spreadsheet with its current software and property records showing when pipes were installed, the city can check the lines in the field and input it to sharpen it. Golden says residents can fill out paperwork to have their contaminated lines replaced for free.
“We'll dig a hole out in the in the sidewalk in front of the property, and then we'll disconnect the pipe on the inside from the water meter,” Golden said. “And as we pull the lead pipe out, we actually pull a copper pipe through at the same time. So, in a perfect world, we can, we can do that on about 75 percent of the properties, and it depends on the length away from the street that the house is. So, if it's a little bit further away, we might have to do that in a few places.”
The lead pipes will be replaced with Type K Copper Pipes. Golden says the lead pipes have been “a blessing and a curse.”
“There's a reason why they used it. And it's, it's just so durable, and those pipes, they come out of the ground, and they're in great shape, you know, it's, you know, obviously it's really bad for, you know, human health,” Golden said. “So, we're replacing with K-series copper. But I'm not sure if you'll see the copper last as long as the lead did.”
Last year, the city received nearly $13 million in federal funding for replacement efforts. $3.9 million of the $12.8 million granted through the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Law is an interest free loan for the replacement of lead-contaminated water lines. The grant follows a previous $500,000 federal investment and millions in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Mantello says she is grateful for the funding even if it looks like progress has been slow.
“But those monies, and this isn't just the 0% loans, this is the grant. So, they're all on a reimbursement. And so, we are going now from money to go gangbusters to get those multiple contractors in.”
Warren Fane, a wholesale gravel, stone, and topsoil business with experience in excavation, is currently the sole contractor for the city.
The mayor’s office says outside engineering firm CDM Smith is working on the paperwork side of the replacement, handling RFPs, grants, and communication with the Department of Transportation.
In December, the city got the green light from the state to issue bond to replace lead pipes on private properties. The advisory opinion from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said the city’s proposed bond financing agreement with the State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) for replacement does not go against the state’s constitution.
Mantello says her administration plans to canvass un-inventoried parts of the city.
A March 27 story by Samantha Simmons misstated the timeline of Troy's lead pipe replacement efforts. The work will begin this year in June, not July, as originally stated.