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The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has served as a wake up call to cities across the nation. In Massachusetts, the concern focuses on aging water service lines that remain in dozens of communities and may contain lead pipes.

Somerville has been working with the Massachusetts Water Resources Agency (MWRA) for several decades to replace lead water mains and service lines. While just about all water mains are now lead free, according to the city’s Department of Water and Sewer, approximately 1,500 lead service lines in use.

In the early 20th century, lead was commonly used for water distribution to city’s and towns. Testing and data weren’t available to detect the dangers. By the 1960’s the discovery that lead could leach into drinking water at dangerous levels began a movement away from lead pipes and solder.

“Any water delivered to your home is lead free through our service mains,” says Mark Lawhorne, Operations Manager for the city of Somerville’s Department of Water and Sewer. “The MWRA helps by adding a corrosive protecting material and add and additive to keep corrosion down, and they test that chemistry constantly.”

Somerville’s drinking water comes from the Quabbin and Wachusetts Reservoirs, some of the purest water in the country. The water source and city mains are lead-free, but lead contamination can occur once the water leaves the water mains and flows through service lines from the street to the house.

“A lot of the confusion comes from the service lines going from the main in the streets to the household,” Lawhorne said. Service lines that run from the property line to the house are a homeowner’s responsibility.

The MWRA has provided financial assistance over the past few decades for cities to replace water mains, but this year the MWRA is introducing a new initiative. They are launching a $100 million dollar interest free loan program to cover the cost of replacing service lines.

This program is projected to fund replacement projects in the 47 communities the MWRA serves, including. Guidelines to the program are still being finalized.

“The town or city providing your water should provide a full comprehensive analysis of what’s available in the water,” said Zach Lovatt the Alternate Laboratory Director at the Northeast Environmental Laboratory in Danvers.

Somerville Neigborhood News teamed up with the MWRA accredited laboratory to conduct and analyze three random samples from Somerville’s taps. The test revealed that there was no detectable level of lead in any of the samples.

If you’re concerned about lead in your drinking water visit the MWRA website at mwra.com. You can find water analysis results for Somerville and a list of accredited water testing laboratories.

Somerville Neighborhood News is a production of Somerville Community Access Television, made by professional journalists, volunteers and staff. The half-hour news show has as its mission to provide a lively, informative newscast focusing on the events, issues and information impacting Somerville residents.