Lead Elimination Assistance Program (LEAP)

Only lead and galvanized water service lines are eligible for replacement under LEAP.

LEAP is available throughout the greater Columbus area as serviced by Columbus Water & Power (formally Columbus Department of Public Utilities). If you receive a water bill from Columbus Water & Power you are eligible for LEAP.

Email LEAP@columbus.gov if you have questions about eligibility.

• No payment is due until the house is sold or refinanced and money is taken out of the property.

      For example, the property owner takes out a home equity line of credit to redo their kitchen, the lien is required to be paid first.

• Some homeowners do like to pay it off, and in that case we only accept a one-time payment. Payment plans are not available. 

If the property is inherited and no funds are dispersed, the lien is not due and will stay on the property. The lien is due when the property sells or when a significant amount of funds are dispersed.

Yes. The LEAP lien must be repaid before any additional mortgages or liens are taken out on the property.

No. The city can't reimburse homeowners for work that has already been performed. No part of the Lead Service Line Replacement program allows for a property owner to be reimbursed.

If you participate in the LEAP program, work can't begin until a third party agreement is signed and you've been sent a notice to preceed letter. If work is done before the agreement is signed, the property is no longer eligible for LEAP and the property owner won't be reimbursed.

The property owner picks their own contractor. The contractor must be:

• Certified to work on water service lines
  • How to navigate to certified contractors: click the link above, go to licenses/registrations, click search for a licensed professional, in the drop down menu select sewer/water contractor, fill in your information for a list of contractors closest to you. 
• Registered with City of Columbus vendor services

Property owners must get three quotes for your line replacement and submit them to LEAP@columbus.gov. Contractors will be sent a three-party agreement to sign. The contractor, property owner and city must sign the agreement before work can begin. 

The city cannot force a contractor to participate in the program. Please let your contractor know you intend to participate in this program. 

To participate in LEAP the contractor must be:

• Certified to work on water service lines
• Registered with vendor services

Not sure if you're in vendor services? Reach out to us at vendorservices@columbus.gov.

Registering with vendor services is a relatively quick process. For instructions to register with vendor services, watch the video below, read the user guide starting on page three here(PDF, 5MB) or sign up at this site.

Yes, the lien can cover restoration work. All work must be included in the quote from your contractor, including restoration work. The lien will not cover restoration done by a different contractor other than the one who signed the three party agreement. Only one comprehensive quote will be approved.

Participating in LEAP will not increase your water bill. LEAP is not added to your water bill. However, as a result of a new water service line, your water pressure will likely improve and you may see a small increase in your water usage.

LEAP requires documentation from the contractor and property owner, therefore, the timeline heavily depends upon how quickly we get those documents back. Our goal is to complete the entire process in 2-3 weeks. Please pay close attention to the instructions emailed to you to ensure this process moves as quickly as possible. Reach out to LEAP@columbus.gov if you have any questions.

Work cannot begin until we have a three-party agreement signed and you have been sent a begin work letter. The city can't reimburse the property owner or contractor for work performed before these steps are completed.

The lien covers up to $10,000. Property owners must submit their application with three quotes for water line replacement to LEAP@columbus.gov.

Yes, however, this process may take an estimated 2-3 weeks to complete. Customers without water can apply for LEAP but they will remain without water until replacement is complete.

Our team will do everything we can to complete this process in a timely manner, however, we require documentation from the contractor and property owner. Please carefully read the instructions shared with you and send back the necessary paperwork as quickly as possible to keep the process moving.