Have you heard about the Lead Reduction Program from a neighbor? Have you received a water pitcher and filter from Denver Water? Want to know more?
Recording from November 7, 2023: Virtual community meeting to get an overview of program
Recording from October 3, 2023: Virtual community meeting to help you prepare for lead service line replacement
Recordings from July 2023: Wondering how to get the most out of your water pitcher and filter?
Denver Water hosted two virtual community meetings to answer your questions about the Lead Reduction Program and share tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your water pitcher and filter.
Recording from May 9, 2023: Virtual community meeting to help you prepare for lead service line replacement
Learn more about the Lead Reduction Program and what to expect before, during and after lead service line replacement.
Recording from Feb. 28, 2023: Virtual community meeting to help you prepare for lead service line replacement
Learn more about the Lead Reduction Program and what to expect before, during and after lead service line replacement.
Recordings from September 2022: Wondering how to get the most out of your water pitcher and filter?
Denver Water hosted two virtual community meetings to answer your questions about the Lead Reduction Program and share tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your water pitcher and filter.
Recording from July 2022: Virtual community meeting to get an overview of program, and learn more about the opportunity to receive federal funding to accelerate program*
Get an overview of Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program, including proper filter usage and what to expect in years to come as Denver Water works to replace every customer-owned lead service line. Learn more about Denver Water’s opportunity to receive federal funding in 2022 to accelerate the program.
| Meeting Date | Previously Recorded Meeting | Documents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 26, 2022 | Recording | Notice of public hearing Project needs assessment† |
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†If you are interested in viewing the attachments, please contact Haley Miller at lead@denverwater.org or 303-893-2444.
Questions and answers from the meeting pertaining to the federal funding opportunity.
What happens if the EPA doesn't approve the remaining 12 years of the Lead Reduction Program?
If Denver Water does not receive approval of the variance to continue the Lead Reduction Program, Denver Water will have to revert back to the original designation for optimal corrosion control treatment which is to add orthophosphate to the drinking water supply. If the variance is not approved, Denver Water will coordinate closely with the EPA and CDPHE and other key stakeholders regarding the best path for implementation.
Can you share the specific federal funding opportunity? What sort of stipulations or required reporting/communication is needed to secure and keep federal grant funding?
Denver Water is seeking funding that was approved in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, specifically for Lead Service Line Replacement. The EPA fact sheet about the funding can be found here. Denver Water is currently in the application process for the historic funding which follows the Colorado Drinking Water State Revolving Fund requirements. Information about the State Revolving Fund application process can be found here.
You said there are 64-84k lead service lines in the service area. Why such a large range, and how will you zero in on how many lead service lines you have?
Because property owners, not Denver Water, own water service lines, information on what they are made of is inconsistent and scattered among a variety of sources. So, Denver Water has been developing a comprehensive inventory of known and suspected lead services lines using a combination of property records (homes built before 1951 are more likely to have lead service lines in Denver Water’s experience), water quality tests and visual inspections of service lines. We continue to refine our inventory through various investigations and estimate that the total number of lead service lines are at the lower end of the 64,000-84,000 range.
Would receiving federal funds limit future rate increases as a result of this program?
There are many factors that go into the rate setting process that ultimately impact rates, and we do not yet know the total amount of funding we will receive. That said, the receipt of federal funding will reduce the cost of the Lead Reduction Program and the amount needed to recover from rates. Denver Water rates are reviewed annually and approved by the Board of Water Commissioners.
Recording from May 2022: Virtual community meeting to help you prepare for lead service line replacement*
Learn more about the Lead Reduction Program and what to expect before, during and after lead service line replacement.
| Meeting Date | Previously Recorded Meeting | |
|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2022 | Recording | |
Recording from February 2022: Virtual community meeting to help you prepare for lead service line replacement*
Learn more about the Lead Reduction Program and what to expect before, during and after lead service line replacement.
| Meeting Date | Previously Recorded Meeting |
|---|---|
| Feb. 15, 2022 | Recording |
*Meeting transcripts available upon request.
Community Partners
Partnerships
Denver Water is partnering with community organizations, working on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, to share information on the Lead Reduction Program in multiple languages under our Ambassador Program. The goal of this partnership is to ensure that all Denver Water customers in the Lead Reduction Program will receive the same program information and resources no matter where they live or what language they speak.
Our partners in talking about lead
Denver Water’s groundbreaking Lead Reduction Program works to reach across our diverse community to get the word out about how we’re replacing old, customer-owned lead service lines — the primary source of lead in drinking water — at no direct charge to the customer.
We provide our resources and information in both Spanish and English, which allows us to reach more than 95% of the households in the program in their primary language.
And we’re working with many partners in our community to get information to our neighbors and friends in a variety of ways.
These partners help increase our community’s awareness of and engagement with the important work the program does — including replacing old lead service lines with new, lead-free copper lines, and supplying water pitchers and filters certified to remove lead from drinking water.
Working together, we have made more than 6 million connections with people who are touched by the program through mailings, phone calls, digital outreach, in-person and virtual meetings and events organized by Denver Water or our partner organizations.
And by working together, we all can help get the lead out.
- City of Denver
- CREA Results
- Denver Health
- Denver INC
- Denver Metro Community Impact
- Denver Museum of Nature and Science
- Denver Public Library
- Denver Public Schools
- Denver's Early Childhood Council
- Food Bank of the Rockies
- Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance
- Inner City Health Center
- NAACP Denver
- Tepeyac Community Health Center
- The Center for African American Health
- Una Mono, Una Esperanza
- Women's Bean Project
Media kit for community partners
Community organizations can help us reach the people they serve, including those who are most at-risk from lead exposure, such as expectant families, children and communities that are socially or economically disadvantaged.
We have provided digital and print assets that can be downloaded and used in digital channels, as well as print for bulletin boards to help get the word out about our Lead Reduction Program.