(MEDFORD)—The City of Medford is offering residents a rebate of $1,000 to remove lead-lined water pipes and upgrade their home plumbing system to safe standards, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced. The program’s goal is to incentivize residents to replace aging lead-lined pipes which can lead to various health complications.
The City operates and maintains public water pipes and routinely updates aging pipes that feed from the street to the water shut off at a homeowner’s property. When the City is doing this work, residents are encouraged to test their own pipes and if lead is found, engage in upgrading their water system. When doing this in tandem with the City, a rebate of $1,000 is given to the resident.
The City has been upgrading its water system infrastructure for the past decade and is encouraging residents to do the same. This program, originally funded through a loan from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, is now eligible to continue under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) legislation.
Residents who upgrade their home plumbing system and can show that they hire licensed and bonded contractors, and submit required documentation to the City, will receive a rebate of $1,000 from the City through ARPA funds. As the City continues to identify and replace lead service lines, we are also proactively contacting property owners about this program.
“This is a wonderful program that prioritizes our public water infrastructure along with the health and safety of our residents while delivering real financial relief in the process,” Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. “As the City continues optimizing and upgrading its water pipes, I urge every resident and homeowner to take advantage of this opportunity and upgrade their systems to protect themselves and loved ones.”
This rebate will apply only if a resident first hires a licensed and bonded contractor who satisfactorily completes the work, and second, submits the required documents. The goal is to help all homeowners who wish to remove their lead water services.
“Lead is an extremely dangerous material that can have disastrous health consequences if not remediated,” Commissioner of Public Works Timothy McGivern said. “By engaging in this program, the community will be able to make significant improvements in their water system while also modernizing their home’s infrastructure.”
If you need assistance identifying the type of pipe in your basement, you can call the Medford Water Division at (617) 784-7507 and ask for Joseph Sousa. Once lead is confirmed, you can reach out to Carmella Donato (Engineering) by calling (781) 393-2474 or emailing her at ccdonato@medford.org, after which she will then email or mail the following:
A list of City-licensed contractors that perform residential water service work
A list of the items needed in order to process the rebate
A W-9 Rebate Form (filled out by homeowner
Instructions for flushing your water system after lead line replacement.
What the Engineering Department will need from you/your contractor is (when job is completed):
A copy of the contractor’s permit signed by the Water Division
An as-built tie sheet
Before and after photographs taken inside the home and outside at the connection to the shutoff at the sidewalk
A copy of the contractor’s invoice and proof of payment (check cleared and downloaded from bank (front and back copy)
A W9 Form filled out by Homeowner
Once all these requirements have been met, the City will process the documents and you will be sent a check for $ 1,000.00. Please feel free to contact the Engineering office at (781) 393-2474 if you have any questions.