MLGW plans to replace lead pipes at thousands of homes

Expanding their efforts to locate and replace potentially dangerous lead water pipes, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division officials have identified at least 2,646 customers whose homes are served by lines made of the toxic metal.

Those customers are among the 35,757 whom MLGW previously had picked out as possibly having lead lines connecting the utility’s water distribution system with individual meters, said Jerry Collins, president and CEO. The remaining 33,111 have yet to be fully checked.

The homes identified with lead pipes are mostly in older sections of Memphis, particularly within the parkways, developed before the 1940s. Lead was long a favored material in plumbing because it bends easily and resists corrosion, but the metal also is linked to a variety of health dangers ranging from stomach problems to brain damage.

MLGW adds an anti-corrosion chemical to its water to coat pipes and prevent lead from leaching into tap water.

But amid highly publicized contamination problems in Flint, Michigan, and other cities, utilities across the nation have surveyed their systems to identify potential sources of lead.

Beginning this year and lasting through 2021, MLGW is budgeting $5 million annually to replace the lead service lines that connect its system and residential meters. The utility isn’t responsible