(Radio Iowa) – The search for lead water pipes in the state is near the end and some communities are already notifying residents of what they’ve found. Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Peutz (Pitts) says it’s part of a federal program to get rid of lead pipes. “All lead service lines, all galvanized lines requiring replacement, and those lines that are unknown to either be replaced or verified within ten years,” he says. Peutz says residents who have a line that needs attention will soon get a letter.

“Sioux City has roughly 26-thousand service connections. Of those 26-thousand service connections, the city has identified roughly 73-hundred service connections that could potentially need replaced by that November of 2037 date, the focus at this time is outreach,” he says.

The Iowa D-N-R is overseeing the federal program here. A spokesperson for the D-N-R says they are still compiling all the survey results and doesn’t yet have an exact statewide count on how many pipes need to be replaced.