Amendment 7 lets local governments use public money to replace hazardous pipes that carry drinking water from the meter to a home or business.
Louisiana voters approved Amendment 7 on Tuesday, giving local governments the authority to spend public money on a piece of the drinking water system that has typically been the property owner’s responsibility. The measure received about 65 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election results.
In New Orleans, the Sewerage and Water Board generally owns the pipe from the water main to the meter. The property owner is typically responsible for the line from the meter to the building. If both sections contain lead, replacing the utility’s side alone leaves a lead pipe carrying water into the home. Amendment 7 creates an exception in the Louisiana Constitution that lets local governments use public funds to identify, inventory, remove or replace service lines on customers’ property when the lines are made of or affected by materials covered by federal drinking water rules.
The New Orleans research behind the amendment
The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans pushed for the change after testing tap water in 144 homes across 37 New Orleans neighborhoods in 2024. The group found detectable lead in 88 percent of the homes it tested, Louisiana Illuminator reported. That percentage describes the homes sampled. A tap water test can detect lead, while an inspection of the service line can help determine whether the pipe itself is a source.
“Voters have sent a clear and overwhelming message that clean and safe drinking water is a top priority,” Jessica Dandridge-Smith, the collaborative’s executive director, said in a statement. The group worked with state Sen. Royce Duplessis and other partners to get the measure on the ballot.
The Sewerage and Water Board said before the election that a May opinion from the Louisiana attorney general had already given the utility a legal path to replace privately owned portions of lead service lines under certain conditions. The amendment puts that spending authority in the state constitution for local governments across Louisiana. Funding and construction schedules will still have to be worked out locally. In New Orleans, the utility says it intends to replace lead service lines at no cost to customers, though the program is still short of full funding.
What residents can do now
Homeowners and renters can search their address in the Sewerage and Water Board’s service line inventory to see what the utility knows about the pipe on each side of the meter. Some entries are based on records or inspections, while others are estimates or are listed as unknown. For an inspection that requires a small dig on private property, the utility asks the owner to sign a right-of-entry form. Renters can forward the form to their landlord.
A separate law, Act 957, lets municipalities adopt ordinances allowing crews to enter private property for lead service line replacements. Under such an ordinance, the municipality generally must notify both the owner and residents at least seven days before entry. The law makes an exception for emergencies and requires a follow-up letter to the owner summarizing the work.
For households with lead on both sides of the meter, the vote makes it possible for publicly funded work to reach all the way to the building. How soon that happens on any given block will depend on what inspections find, how the utility prioritizes replacements and how much funding it can secure.