City of Minneapolis’ Lead Service Line Replacement Project Underway

meganstone22
5 days ago
2 min read

One of the beauties of the Nokomis East Neighborhood is the variety of home styles, types, and ages in the area. While Hennepin County as a whole has a mix of newer and older homes and an average home age of approximately 49 years old, South Minneapolis is known for having a high number of historic homes. These homes are attractive for a variety of reasons, including their character, longevity and uniqueness. However, older homes come with some risks as well, one of which is old service line pipes made of lead.

The City of Minneapolis is undertaking a major, multi-year lead service line replacement project due to a requirement of a federal mandate. Per the city’s project webpage, under this mandate all lead service lines must be replaced by 2037, and the State of Minnesota has committed to replace all lead service lines by 2033. According to the City of Minneapolis, the service line project began in 2023. An estimated 400 service lines were replaced in 2024, with another 1,000 planned for replacement in 2025. In a letter to property owners and residents in October 2025, the city indicated lead service line replacements are being prioritized as a result of State legislation to target areas with lower-income residents and other disadvantaged communities, areas with children with elevated blood lead levels, and coordination with other capital improvement projects. With state and federal grant funds, the City of Minneapolis is replacing lead service lines at no cost to property owners.

What is a service line?

The city delivers an average of 57 million gallons of drinking water each day from the Mississippi River, and the water service line connects to the water main on the street to the piping of a property. This service line is the responsibility of the property owner, not the City of Minneapolis. Lead seeping through the water is mitigated by the city through treatments from Minneapolis’ water treatment system. Lead pipes are unable to be repaired to remove lead and must be replaced in order to be completely free of lead. In Minneapolis, service lines installed before 1930 usually used lead piping.

Resources for Property Owners & Interactive Maps

The City of Minneapolis’ Public Works Water Treatment & Distribution Services website has a wealth of information related to all Minneapolis water services, including water reports, water system and delivery processes, and water quality details. Specifically regarding lead in water, the city offers free lead testing kits for property owners and provides guidance on reducing lead exposure, since lead may be present not only in the water service line but also in other pipes within the home or property. Helpful interactive maps are also available through the city - a project map for the service lines to view addresses of projects completed in 2025 and projects designated for 2026 and a Lead Service Line map, where users can enter in a specific address to determine if the service line contains lead.