The fix is a document handed over with every plumbing permit. It came from a resident who noticed the difference.
MEMPHIS, August 19, 2026 - Shelby County residents who hire a private plumber for work that could disturb a water service line have not been receiving the lead exposure precautions that Memphis Light, Gas and Water provides through its own contractors, a county lead prevention advocate told commissioners.
A resolution to close that gap advanced from Committee 3, Hospitals and Health, on four aye votes. It asks the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement to increase public awareness of potential lead exposure by providing educational materials to contractors.
Where the resolution came from
The presenter, appearing for the Shelby County Lead Prevention and Sustainability Commission, told the committee the item was brought forward by a community member who highlighted that when a private job is done by an independent plumber, equitable information about lead poisoning prevention was not actually being provided.
She described the existing practice. When MLGW sends contractors to do underground work that may affect a service line, the utility does provide information about precautions where there may be a lead service line. There was no continuity if a resident secured a plumber on their own.
She said the resolution was co-designed with the Memphis lead coalition and that MLGW participated as a partner in working through the process, so that all residents receive the same precautions regardless of who does the work. The digital document to be distributed was included in the committee''s presentation materials.
How it would work
A deputy division director for the Division of Planning and Development, which includes the Office of Construction Code Enforcement, told the committee her office would support distribution significantly through plumbers: when a plumbing permit is issued, the coalition''s information would go out with it.
She then made a request. Her office consulted with plumbers who are its customers and partners in code enforcement, and they had additions they would like represented in the materials, since they are the ones who will have to have these conversations with homeowners. She asked for one final communication and meeting to refine the information before it is distributed, and thanked the plumbers present, whom she described as representing the plumbers union.
What the record says about the service lines themselves
Commissioner Henri E. Brooks asked whether the presentation reflected movement on a federal replacement requirement, which she attributed to a mandate she recalled from around 2021 or 2022.
The presenter said the Environmental Protection Agency made that mandate through the lead and copper rule improvements. She said MLGW began lead service line replacement in 2012 but was not at that time doing full service line replacement, and that the utility has since moved forward early with full replacement, which she described as running from the public side all the way up into the house.
She also told the committee MLGW became the first utility in Tennessee''s history to secure state revolving funds toward full replacement, which she said means costs can be covered free or at a discounted rate for residents unable to pay.
Asked how residents learn whether they qualify, she described monthly canvassing in another role she holds, using MLGW''s mapping of confirmed lead service lines to door-knock those addresses each month, plus distribution through the coalition, community organizations and neighborhood associations. She agreed with Commissioner Brooks that getting the information onto the counters of county agencies that face the public would help.
The vote
Commissioner Brooks asked to be added as a co-sponsor, seconded by Commissioner Britney Thornton, and there was no objection. Aye votes on the resolution came from Commissioner Amber Mills, Commissioner Thornton, Commissioner Brooks and Commissioner David C. Bradford, Jr. Four aye votes sent it forward with a favorable recommendation.
What happens next
The full Commission adopted the resolution on the consent agenda on Monday, August 24, 2026, on 12 aye votes, without discussion, with Commissioner Henri E. Brooks added as a co-sponsor alongside Commissioner Britney Thornton. No date was set at that meeting for the further meeting with plumbers that the Office of Construction Code Enforcement asked for before distribution.
