Minnesota Department of Health releases new service line map – ABC 6 News

(ABC 6 News) — The Minnesota Department of Health released a new map of leading service lines Friday.

The map shows that there are thousands of lead pipes in Minnesota that need to be replaced. Minnesota residents can use the map to not only check the condition of their home, but also explore other parts of the state.

In Rochester, of about 42,000 customer-owned service lines, about 225 contain lead. A utility line is a pipe that connects the water supply to the interior plumbing system of a home/building.

In an emailed statement to ABC 6 News, Tim McCollough, CEO of Rochester Public Utilities, said “RPU is committed to protecting the community from lead in drinking water.” water supply systems for many years.”

The State of Minnesota has set a goal of replacing all lead lines by 2033.

If you have lead in your pipes, the Department of Health recommends letting the faucet run for about 3 to 5 minutes because the longer the water sits in your pipes, the more lead it may contain.

You should also use cold water for drinking, cooking and baby food because cold water releases less lead than hot water.

Correction. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Rochester had a pipeline serving more than 100,000 people that contained lead. More than 41,000 service lines in Rochester serve more than 114,000 people. However, again, only about 225 of them contain lead.