Response to lead water pipes

Lead water pipes were widely used as water pipes with a diameter of 25 mm or less because they were soft and easy to process and repair from the beginning of the spread of water supply until the Showa 20s. However, since lead water pipes have a lot of water leaks and affect health, Yokohama City completely abolished the use of lead pipes from 1978.
Water Works Bureau responds to lead water pipes used in water pipes owned by customers for the purpose of supplying safer and higher quality tap water, preventing water leaks, and building water resistant to disasters.

The “Lead Pipe Improvement Construction Subsidy Program in Residential Land” has been introduced since 2004 with the aim of promoting the improvement of lead water pipes used in residential land and reducing the burden on customers' improvement work costs.
Ten years have passed since this project started, and the number of applications has been decreasing year by year due to the progress of the project, and improvements have been made due to the "pipe-in-eco method" (implemented with the replacement of the expiration of the water meter). As a result, we considered business continuity and ended the business in 2015.

March 31, 2016

About "pipe-in-eco construction method" performing at the time of water meter exchange once every eight years that started in 2007, we finished business in 2014 because work was completed. However, if requested by customers, Water Works Bureau will construct it free of charge.

The pipe-in-eco method was developed by Yokohama City for the first time in Japan (patent is being applied). It is a simple construction method that prevents elution of lead, can be constructed without excavation, and construction costs are inexpensive.

＊However, there are also lead water pipes that are extremely bent and piping before and after the meter, and in this case it may not be inserted.