City spokesperson Frank Baraff says the replacement work will be performed by private contractors, though details of the bidding and project delivery process are unknown.

“The city is anxious to get this underway as fast as humanly possible and will chose the fastest possible process to choose contractors and get them on the job,” Baraff says.

Newark’s water system provides approximately 80 million gallons per day to more than 300,000 customers within the city and surrounding communities. After elevated lead levels were discovered in drinking water samples in early 2017, a systemwide assessment found no problems at the city’s two treatment plants or their raw water sources. Last year, Newark began using zinc orthophosphate as a corrosion inhibitor in its distribution system, and distributed nearly 40,000 water filters to homeowners.

Those measures proved less than fully effective. Tests at two filter-equipped homes this past August revealed lead levels of 55 parts per billion—more than three times the federal action level, resulting in an emergency bottled water distribution program while tests are carried out at an additional 225 homes. Over Labor Day weekend, residents at a 37-story luxury high-rise in downtown Newark were advised against consuming the building’s tap water.