An average of nearly 10 new water service lines were installed or verified lead-free in Benton Harbor each day during March as contractors settled into a rhythm designed to replace all of the city’s lead lines by the spring of next year.
As of Wednesday morning, 224 lines were replaced during the previous 30 days, bringing the total number of lead service lines either replaced or verified as non-lead to 751.
Five of six contractors are actively engaged in lead service line work, and the sixth, SWT Excavating, is expected to start work in mid-April.
Roughly 3,600 more suspected lead lines are expected to be replaced during the next year. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for the replacement of lead service lines in Benton Harbor in 18 months.
Almost 1,770 “Right of Access” Water Service Line Replacement Agreement forms have been completed – a necessary step to allow the contractors to access private properties to perform the work. The Water Service Line Replacement Agreement may be accessed, filled out and submitted online. Forms may also be submitted to Abonmarche, 95 West Main Street, Benton Harbor, MI 49022 or emailed to Sandy Riehl at sriehl@abonmarche.com. For questions, call 269-926-4557.
Progress on the project is updated daily on the Benton Harbor project dashboard.
