Like many Michigan and American cities, Ludington's first water supply systems came about during a time when the use of lead in supply pipes or connector pipes was common.  Lead leaching from pipes can cause stunted brain development in children and neurological problems in adults, a reason why lead was phased out of water systems around 80 years ago. 

While some of those lines have been unearthed and replaced with safer materials over the years due to mechanical failure, local protocols, or new constructions, the State of Michigan developed a 20 year plan to get the lead out of water system pipes as a response to the Flint water crisis.  The goal is to replace all lead water pipes, connectors (such as 'goosenecks'), and lead-compound joints so that there is no lead to leach by even the most reactive water.

The first basic step of the process is to identify where underground the enemy-lead is lurking, and this isn't an easy task since most water systems have mixtures of pipe materials in them, and that information is rarely cataloged.  Ludington had that issue, and so an outside contractor was hired about three years ago to do a pipe survey that they seem to have finished in June 2019, which is when the map portions found herein are from. 

You will notice from the above map a code of colors and boxes with lines in that are explained in the legend, where the green (safe) areas denote areas where pipes are made of PVC, the orange (mostly safe) areas have brass and copper pipes, and the red (unsafe) areas have lead lines and/or companion pipes that indicate lead may be present in the immediate system as connectors or joint-sealing.  The dashed lines are unknowns that have yet to be confirmed one way or another.  

Now that you have the basics on how to interpret the 'pipe maps', we will reveal the maps for the rest of the city of Ludington.  The original map created by the contractor is on about a 4' X 6' sheet of paper and is available for inspection at Ludington City Hall upon request.  It is hoped that you will be able to find out the information on the following maps that pertains to yourself and others that you care about as regards having lead in your water supply line.  

As you can see by the legend, just under 70% of the known areas are red, meaning they will be replaced at some point and that they may present some danger to those who use the water at those residences and businesses due to the lead present or suspected in the system.  If you know somebody who lives at these places, especially those who have young kids, please advise them that they may want to take precautionary measures rather than deal with the debilitating effects of lead in their own biological systems.  

Without further ado, here is the northeast corner of Ludington (1st ward, parts of 2nd, 3rd ward), you can use your computer's zoom in feature or other apps to magnify areas:

Southeast Ludington (3rd Ward, some of 4-6th Wards)

Northeast Ludington (2nd Ward, 5th ward):

Eastern Ludington (6th Ward, parts of 3-5th wards):

And sub-bayou Fourth Ward:

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Do we really need to discuss this? It really only affects the health of about 70 percent of the residents. Let's focus on new fireplaces downtown and splash pads for the kids to get their daily dose of the element.

I appreciate your Ludington celebrity impression.  I'm just not sure whether you're Heather Tykoski, Brandy Miller, or Kathy Winczeski.  

1. We have no lead in our pipes.

2. Now, that it has been proven that we have lead goosenecks, and we pass them around for show and tell, it doesn't mean that the white coating inside the lead goosenecks is breaking down. We get no exposure to lead because our water comes out of Lake Michigan. It was because Flint took the water out of the toxic river that eroded the white safety coating on the lead.

3. It's just because the State is requiring removal of the lead goosenecks that we are doing it.

We are waiting for the State to pay for the costs, so relax, drink beer.

P.S.  I'm not revealing my true celebrity impression.  Only my hairdresser knows.

X, Thanks for gathering this information. Would you know if the study is available to the public? It would be nice to know how they arrived at their findings. Is this study only of exterior piping or both interior and exterior? Do you know how they determined what kind of pipe was at each building. I noticed that under the "red" coding, pipes included are all piping not made of copper, brass or pvc. How do they know this? Did they visually see the pipes, detect them with machinery or pour over historical records? It seems to me that knowing exactly where the lead piping is located has to be the number one priority and it sounds as if they really don't know. The old tried and true method of testing the water inside the home may not be the most accurate way to discover lead lines and connections underground. I wonder just how reliable this company who did the study is and how much it costs and how accurate their findings are. That 2 million for legacy park could have gone a long way to fixing any water supply problems in the City. Thanks to Heather and the gang it may be a long wait to correct any problems in the water supply.

To answer your questions the best I can, the writings of the study should be available to the public, this should include the methods and protocols used to determine their findings.  To my knowledge, the study done was not done intrusively, rather they used existing records of what was known and supplemented them with actual inspection of the pipes leading to and from where the City's shut-off valve was located and any other place they could conveniently look at pipes.  That's why galvanized and black iron pipes are red, I believe, because it is presumed that they connect to a gooseneck before it reaches the water main.  

To my knowledge, this was done by Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber with help from Utility Maintenance Supervisor Daryll Plamondon.  They discussed it in some detail at this May 2019 COW meeting.  One thing I did not understand is that when I looked at this map and the map made three months earlier (March 2019), some areas turned from orange to red.  Had they presumed these areas were copper due to their records and discovered other pipes upon inspection? 

Good questions Willy, I will be continuing to look into this as the City does more actions; I do totally agree that if the state requires this, they should not be recklessly granting money for fluff projects like Lunacy Park and the West End Reject.

Thanks for the information X.

 When I replaced the water line running to my house a few years back the city worker who turned the water off and back on for connection stated they had records for water connections back into the 1800's on properties.  He also stated that I was very lucky that the old pipe unscrewed without breaking off from the main shut off. This of coarse was before the lead pipe controversy so it wasn't brought up.  I think replacement of goosenecks on the Ludington Ave. will be the last to do as I believe the main runs under the main road  US 10. Or maybe the state will say , hey we need to get this done  NOW!!!!!!  LOL

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