EBMUD to Inventory 10,000 Sites for Lead Leakage
Photo Courtesy SMCDphoto/NEWS24/680
About 800 people walked through the streets of Walnut Creek on October 10 to condemn the attacks in Israel and ask for the safe return of more than 120 hostages, including a handful of Americans, captured by Hamas.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) told the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) about an ongoing project to identify any traces of lead lingering in old pipes in their system at the MAC’s Monday night meeting.
EBMUD is specifically talking about service lines, the smaller pipes carrying water from the large pipe under the street to the individual home or business. The ownership of the pipe transfers from the customer to EBMUD at the water meter box- the pipes in the street belong to EBMUD, and the pipes to go into the home belong to the homeowner.
In the 1940s, EBMUD used lead series lines- all of which have been removed- half were gone by 1970 and more than 97 percent by the year 2000. But nearly 10,000 customers were connected to the lines at one point, including around 100 in Castro Valley and around 1,000 in San Lorenzo.
But when the lead pipes were removed, they were in some cases replaced with galvanized lines (Galvanized Requiring Replacement or GRR), and under new federal regulations, EBMUD must create a service line inventory by this time next year, and customers with GRRS must be notified.
The galvanized pipes are made of iron or steel and have zinc coating, but once that coating is gone, the iron will corrode, and lead-bearing scales can form and be released into water even when the lead pipes themselves are ancient history. These pipes are no longer in use but were common in the 1960s and earlier.
Now, EBMUD has hired a contractor to visit 10,000 homes and businesses, which involves a visual inspection at the meter box and, in most cases, will not involve contact with customers. Informational pamphlets are being distributed.
After the inventory is completed (anticipated November 2024), customers who are found to have GRRs will be notified. EBMUD estimates about 5,000 customers will be notified that their lines will need replacing. The GRR laterals are the homeowners’ responsibility, and customers will receive annual notifications until the GRR is replaced.
While EBMUD emphasizes that customers are at low risk, they invite people to call them for a free lead test, advise that older pipes and facets are replaced and that customers consider a filter for their drinking water.
The MAC told EBMUD that they’d like to hear soon from the utility’s general manager to talk about their line-item budget.
Castro Valley Economic Development Update
Jaimie Orfanos, the county's Assistant Director of Economic and Civic Development (ECD), also spoke at Monday’s MAC meeting. Back in the summer, the MAC had asked the ECD for a deep dive into what they do and to provide data specifics, so Orfanos came back to address the MAC.
Orfanos told the MAC that the ECD does a variety of things, including business attraction and retention, support for local entrepreneurs, promoting community identity, and commercial beautification. She highlighted the façade and billboard programs, the banners that line the Boulevard, the way-finding signs, marketing, business grants, and permit coaching.
Six businesses in Castro Valley are currently taking part in the façade improvement program, where they can take advantage of up to $80,000 in county funding (with a 50 percent cash match or $40,000 with no cash match) to improve their signage, windows, paint, awnings, and landscaping. In the Eden area, 23 businesses in total are participating. For more information, visit www.edenupgrade.org.
Three digital billboards have replaced traditional billboards at 38 sites in the Eden Area, with the Castro Valley billboard located at the 580 Marketplace. The county estimates between $132,00 and $172,00 in annual revenue comes from the billboards.
Orfanos also touted the ECD’s permit coaching, which guides small businesses through the often-confusing permitting process and helps entrepreneurs find department contacts and referrals.
“Permit coaching is fairly new,” said Orfanos. “We try to connect people with what they need to support them opening or expanding a business.”
Orfanos says major ECD projects coming up are the old Castro Valley project, the Lorenzo Theater, future wayfinding, more façade improvements, general small business assistance, and unincorporated area economic development market analysis.
