Property owners may choose to pay a contractor to replace the private portion of their lead service line at any time. If you choose to replace your lead service line privately, you are eligible to receive a 25% rebate to reduce the cost of your lead service line replacement.
I want Halifax Water to replace my lead service line at no cost.
What is a private lead service line?
The ownership of water service lines is shared between Halifax Water and property owners. As the property owner, you own the portion of the service line from the property line into the house. Halifax Water owns the portion of the service line from the shut-off valve near the property line to the water main in the street.
If both portions (public and private) are lead, Halifax Water will pay to replace the public lead service at the time of your private service line replacement.
How to Replace your Lead Service Line with the 25% Rebate:
If you are ready to have the private portion of your lead service line replaced, you can hire any qualified contractor to do the work. If the public (Halifax Water) portion has not been replaced, you can hire one of the following contractors to do both portions at the same time:
- C.R. Falkenham Backhoe Services: 902-456-0277
- G&R Kelly: 902-835-3125
- Sackville Trenching: 902-865-8335
Only the contractors listed above are permitted to replace the public portion of a lead service line. You may choose to use another qualified contractor to complete your private lead service line replacement. If you decide to use a contractor other than those listed above, and the public portion of the service line is composed of lead, Halifax Water will replace the public portion of the service line following your private replacement at our expense. Halifax Water always recommends getting multiple quotes from contractors to ensure you are having the work done at a reasonable cost.
The Lateral Loan helps those Halifax Water customers who need to replace their private lateral but cannot afford or cannot secure a loan with their banking institution to pay for the replacement.
If you are applying for The Lateral Loan, please submit your application along with a quote from your contractor before obtaining a permit.
Regardless of which contractor you hire to replace your private lead service line, you will need to fill out and submit a New Services and Renewal Application to Halifax Water. The application can be found near the top of this page.
Ensuring you have the proper applications and permits in place helps protect you and your property and is required for all service line replacements (renewals) or other work being done to your service line on your property.
The Get the Lead Out rebate is calculated based on the homeowners cost for renewal. Halifax Water offers a rebate of 25% of the renewal cost up to a reimbursement cap of $2,500. This excludes any costs associated with upgrades to the property or any work that is not required for the completion of the lead service line renewal. The homeowner is responsible for the payment of the bill owed to the contractor in full. The rebate will be mailed by check to the homeowner once we have received confirmation that the final inspection has been completed, and a completed rebate application and invoice has been received.
