Digging Deep

Federal lead pipe mandate puts Kimball on the clock Kimball’s next major infrastructure challenge is buried beneath its streets and sidewalks. And finding the problem could be just the beginning of an expensive, years-long undertaking. During the Nov. 5 Kimball City Council meeting, City Administrator Annette Brower outlined federal requirements for identifying and replacing lead water service lines, a project that could eventually require digging up portions of streets and sidewalks throughout the city. “We are under EPA requirements. The entire state of Nebraska is, not just the city of Kimball,” Brower said. According to Brower, the city must complete an inventory of its service lines and submit it to the state by December 2027. Identifying the materials may require excavating around individual lines to determine whether they contain lead or galvanized materials. “After we do that, we have until 2037 to replace those lines. Mandatory. This is a non-funded mandate,” Brower said.

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