Tata & Howard assisted the City of Everett, MA with their Lead Service Replacement Project from 2018-2024. Phases 1 and 2 included replacement or material confirmation of approximately 580 services between spring 2019 and fall 2022. Phase 3 of the project addressed an additional 300 services. Tata & Howard provided design, construction administration, and resident project representative services for all three phases of the project.
Design services included attending the kickoff meeting with City and reviewing existing information including tie-cards, the City’s existing GIS database that includes service material, and the City’s master list of services with service material. Each service was field verified to confirm exterior conditions. Each design phase included completion of 50% and 95% design documents, preparation of probable cost estimates, preparation of bid documents and coordination with purchasing agent, attending meetings with City, and providing recommendation to award contract to the lowest qualified bidder.
Construction Administration services for each phase included attendance at progress meetings and site visits, review of submittals, request for information, and purchasing change orders and payment applications. As-built record tie-cards were completed for each address and the master inventory of service material was updated as construction on each phase progressed.
Resident Project Representation services included full time on-site observation during construction, reviewing schedules, serving as Engineers’ liaison with Contractor, completing reports, reviewing pay apps, and issuing certification of substantial completion.
Tata & Howard was contracted to provide design, construction administration and resident project representation for the replacement of 588 lead services in Newton, MA. Although the water that services the City is not corrosive, replacing lead services is a cautious and preventative measure to avoid lead from potentially leaching into tap water via the service connection which is located from the water main to the meter.

Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986. As such, the affected lead services in Newton were installed between 1875 and 1915. Of the 588 total services;
- 318 were full-service replacements (from water main to meter)
- 266 were partial-service replacements (from curb stop to meter)
- 4 were street only replacements (from water main to curb stop)
Prior to the construction phase of this project, Newton residents were notified about the City’s Lead Service Replacement Program (LSRP). Although not required, those wishing to participate in the program were able to take advantage of a ten-year, no interest payment plan through the City.
Under the LSRP, the City replaced, at its own expense, the portion of the water service pipe which was within the public way from the street line in front of the homeowner’s property, to the City water main. The homeowner then had the option to replace the portion of the water service pipe that ran from their meter to the property line.

Tata & Howard scheduled construction and coordinated with the residents who elected to participate in the LSRP. Crews from C.J.P & Sons Construction worked to excavate the properties and remove/replace the water service pipes. In most cases, limited excavation of homeowner property was needed.
When the project reached completion, 427 total services had been replaced.

The City of Marlborough, MA (home of T&H headquarters) contracted Tata & Howard for the design, pre-construction services, construction administration and resident observation of approximately 1,200 lead water service connections.
Until 1944, lead was widely used in service lines and is quite common in many of the older cities and towns in Massachusetts.
Lead pipes currently placed between the streets and homes of identified Marlborough residents will be replaced with copper pipes in five phases – each phase consisting of approximately 250 homes.
Tata & Howard will be involved in each phase, reviewing tie cards, attending field surveys to determine what each service placement will entail, and advising contractors on the quantity of pipes to be installed in each location.
Although lead is known to be a major health risk to children and pregnant women, the supplier of Marlborough’s water, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), treats all water to reduce lead from getting into drinking water.

