Hastings Utility Department will replace lead services lines in the community

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - The Hastings Utilities Department is taking a proactive approach in replacing lead service lines in the community.

Starting on Friday, Hastings Utility Department they will be issuing letters to residents who have at least a portion of lead or all their service is lead. Part of the letter is a contact phone number for residents to call to understand the future plans for removal.

Now that they're in fiscal year three of the program, they are replacing lead service lines throughout the community.

Brandan Lubken, Director of Water and Underground Operations, said when they started the program, they were quite a bit of lead water service lines.

"When we started we had about 1400 known lead water service lines we're down to close to about 1100," said Lubken. He explained there is a 10-year mandate per Oct. 8 to get out all the lead in the communities if you have a municipal water system.

"We're right on target to do that," said Lubken. "We're working year by year to go ahead and removed all lead water service lines from the community and we're right on target to do that."

In addition, Lubken explained one of their fundamental goals during the process of starting the replacement program was to figure out what to do with the aging infrastructure in Hastings.

"We're replacing the water main in conjunction with lead water services and the reason why we were targeting lead because of a new alliteration in the lead copper rule that came out in 2021," said Lubken.

They hired a two-person crew whose sole purpose is to replace the lead service lines. "They have a boring machine, a mini excavator and what they're doing is installing a one-inch plastic water service alongside the lead, so the lead is decommissioned and the plastic line is their new services."

The Hastings Utility Department is planning to replace the lead service lines in the areas of Eastside Boulevard and Garfield Avenue in the future. However, there's not a huge concern in Hastings, according to officials, but their main priority is take make the community safer.