Macon Municipal Utilities plans to pay for and complete the replacement of lead water service lines on customer property, using a grant and a zero-interest loan, General Manager Dana Ulmer said in an email Monday. Ulmer did not give a cost or say when the work will start or finish.
Ulmer answered written questions from the Macon Chronicle. The Chronicle reported Friday that MMU is seeking an engineering firm to plan and oversee the replacements under a request for qualifications titled Water Improvements 2027. The request puts the number of lead lines found in the utility's inventory at 63.
"All of the lines to be replaced are on the customer side of the meter and are the property of the customer/property owner," Ulmer wrote.
Asked who will pay and what it will cost customers, Ulmer wrote that MMU, with a grant and a zero-interest loan, is to pay for and complete the replacements. Ulmer did not give the amount of either, say what the project will cost, or say directly whether customers will pay anything. The request for qualifications states that all or part of the funding will come through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Financial Assistance Center.
The lines are generally in the oldest part of Macon, downtown and the surrounding streets, and they can be as much as 100 years old, Ulmer wrote.
Federal law has barred the use of lead pipe in new drinking water plumbing since 1986, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which estimates that service lines last 30 to 50 years. Asked why Macon's lead lines had not been replaced before now, Ulmer wrote, "A new regulation has been imposed regulating lead service lines."
The EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, the federal rule that set the 2027 date, was published in October 2024 and took effect Dec. 30, 2024. It requires water systems to start lead service line replacement programs by Nov. 1, 2027, and generally to finish replacing lead lines within 10 years.
Ulmer wrote that Macon finished its service line inventory well ahead of the EPA's deadline and that the replacement project will bring the city into compliance before the final deadline for replacing lines.
"The 2027 date is not a replacement deadline," Ulmer wrote. "I currently have no estimate as to project completion date. That will be identified as part of the engineering process."
Ulmer did not say when replacement work is expected to begin.
"Sampling results demonstrate compliance with the 'Lead & Copper Rule’,” Ulmer said. “Macon's compliance with this rule has been so good that DNR allowed Macon to reduce the frequency of required monitoring well over 10 years ago."
Macon's 2025 annual water quality report, dated March 27, 2026, shows lead was detected in some tap samples taken from 2023 through 2025, at levels ranging from zero to 3.45 parts per billion. The 90th percentile result was 2.22 parts per billion, and no sample sites exceeded the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. Copper results were also below the action level at every site, and the report lists no violations in 2025.
"Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children," the report states. It says lead in drinking water comes mainly from service lines and home plumbing, and it advises residents to flush their pipes for several minutes before drinking tap water. A filter certified to reduce lead is another option, according to the report.
Each affected customer must be notified every year of the material of the customer's service line and its presence in the inventory, and MMU is fully complying with that requirement, Ulmer wrote.
The Chronicle also asked for a copy of the service line inventory. None was included with the reply. The water quality report states that the inventory can be requested from the utility.
Statements of qualifications from engineering firms are due to MMU by 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.