The city is continuing its effort to inventory lead service lines as part of a requirement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that went into effect last year.

The city public works department has been sending letters since 2022 about the inventory asking residents to help identify the type of material used in their water service lines.

A number of residents never responded to the first round of letters, so the city sent more letters, made phone calls and over the winter started going door to door to speak with residents about the inventory and leaving door hangars with information for anyone who doesn’t answer the door.

During the Feb. 5 city-county health board meeting, one of a new board member’s patients attended the meeting and said she’d heard of a letter in the city indicating someone’s water was contaminated with lead and was unsafe to drink.

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The Electric followed up on the comment to ensure it was in fact a city service line inventory letter and to also gather information about lead contamination in Cascade County.

The EPA rule changes include increased water testing and the city must identify the types of water pipes throughout the city.

City staff has been preparing for the federal changes and working on the inventory for several years, which have been reported regularly by The Electric and discussed in multiple public meetings since 2022.

The city posted the inventory of known lead, copper and galvanized water services lines, as well as those that were unknown, with their addresses, on Oct. 16, as required by the EPA.

The city has been using historical records to identify as many service line materials as possible, and sent 10,000 letters to property owners who might have non-copper service lines in the summer of 2022 asking them to do identification tests of their pipes.

City staff going door-to-door of properties with unresponsive, unknown water service lines

The city adopted rules in the 1960s or 70s that prohibited lead pipes and they can use that documentation to help identify what type of pipes are where in the city.

By May 2023, the city had identified 14,846 or 67.8 percent lines as non-lead; 142 or 0.6 percent as lead; 502 or 2.3 percent as galvanized; and 6,423 or 29.3 percent as unknown.

Only about 3,000 people had responded to the letters about identifying service lines, James Hewitt of public works told commissioners during their June 2024 work session.

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Staff followed up with phone calls. Hewitt said in June 2024 that they ask homeowners to return the info or staff will go out and help them get the info to identify the line material.

Hewitt said homeowners aren’t returning messages, hanging up on staff or choosing not to participate.

Hewett told commissioners during the June 2024 meeting that they’d completed the follow up calls with roughly 7,500 homeowners.

City continuing to prepare for new EPA rules on public water systems [2024]

During their September 2024 work session, Mark Juras of public works told commissioners that staff has been continuing to follow-up with homeowners and over the winter months will be going door to door in an attempt to collect that information.

City continuing effort to inventory water service lines ahead of new EPA rules [2024]

As of September 2024, staff had identified the following service lines in the city limits:

• non-lead: 15,664 or 71.9 percent
• lead: 157 or 0.7 percent
• galvanized: 590 or 2.7 percent
• unknown: 5,378 or 24.7 percent

Unknown lines are considered lead until proven otherwise under the EPA regulations.

During that September update to commissioners about the rules and inventory, staff said they’d send notice to property owners with unknown lines within 30 days of the Oct. 16 publishing.

The city mailed about 6,000 letters or notices on Nov. 8 to residents with service lines of non-conforming materials, Juras told The Electric.

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For citizens who receive a notice indicating their services line is of unknown material, staff is asking them to call the city’s Water Service Hotline at 406-455-8401 to speak to staff to get the service line material identified.

As of Nov. 19, the city had received about 200 calls and identified about 50 unknown service lines, Juras told The Electric.

City began door-to-door inspections in December, visiting addresses that have unknown service lines and left door hangars if no  one answers.

As of Feb. 10, Juras said city employees had knocked on 3,218 doors and successfully entered and identified 368 service lines and had about 200 people call or email their responses to the door hangars.

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The November mailing of about 6,000 notice letters received a response of about 400 service line identifications.

Juras said they’re making progress, but there are still about 4,440 unknown service lines in the city.

The service line inventory as of Feb. 10:

• non-lead: 16,918, or 76 percent
• lead: 164, or 1 percent
• galvanized: 632 or 3 percent
• unknown: 4,431, or 20 percent

The majority of the unknown service lines that have been identified in the last six months have been copper, with about three percent as galvanized and one percent lead, Juras said.

For those property owners with confirmed lead service lines, they’ll receive a letter from the city’s water treatment plant lab with a request for them to participate in the city’s tap sampling program, Chris Gaub, city public works director, told The Electric.

Gaub said that the city’s water supply system hadn’t exceeded any action levels for lead.

The Cascade City-County Health Department told The Electric that over the last five years, there were 63 cases of lead poisoning, or an average of 14 cases annually.

There have been three confirmed cases so far in 2025, as of Feb. 7.

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Of the three cases this year, two were in the City of Great Falls and one was a rural location near Cascade, according to CCHD.

Over the last few years, cases have been scattered with no obvious geographic pattern, according to CCHD, and cases have been reported in Simms, Vaughn, Belt and Ulm.

The age breakdown of cases from 2020-2025 so far, from CCHD:

• 24 were 0-9
• 4 were 20-29
• 5 were 30-39
• 7 were 40-49
• 14 were 50-59
• 8 were 60-69
• 1 were 70-79

The Montana Department of Health and Human Services, conducted an in-depth investigation of a Cascade County lead poisoning case in October 2024.

It found lead-based paint on the home exterior and elevated lead levels in the soil near the home and the findings “suggest that the lead-based paint from the exterior of the house (and the neighboring house) might be a source of elevated levels of lead in the yard soil. The concentrations of lead measured in the soil at the property are high enough to potentially increase the blood lead level in a child who swallows or breathes in lead-contaminated soil,” according to CCHD.

City prepping for new EPA rules on lead in public water systems [2022]

Mike Hryszko, CCHD’s primary investigator on lead poisoning cases, noted some trends and safety tips, as provided by CCHD to The Electric:

• older homes constructed before 1978 are likely to contain lead-based paint. If remodeling or scraping off old paint, ensure that the space is adequately ventilated. Clean up any paint scrapings falling onto the grass or soil around your home.
• cases are more common in infants and young children, who might pick up objects and put them into their mouths.
• if engaging in hobbies that involve lead products, such as ammunition reloading or indoor shooting, be sure that the space is well ventilated.
• ensure your water lines do not use lead piping. The letter sent by the city provides instructions on how to check your lines.
• food products can occasionally be contaminated with lead. Several brands of applesauce and fruit puree were recalled in November 2023 – check your pantry for any recalled products.

Hryszko and CCHD provided the following resources related to lead:

• Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home: website, or download
• Blood Lead and Child Nutrition Guidance here
• A Guide for Cleaning Lead-Safe here [dshs.texas.gov]
• EPA Lead-Safe “Renovate Right” Program here
• DPHHS State Lab can run drinking water samples ($24/sample), here
• DPHHS Environmental Health Program can run outside soils samples (contact Abbie; this is a free service)
• DPHHS Environmental Health Program can send you 3M Home Lead Test swabs (contact Abbie; this is a free service), “how to test for lead” video
• Find an EPA-certified Lead Paint Inspection or Risk Assessment, here
• Foods That Reduce Lead Poisoning