NEWARK, NJ — Residents living in 15,000 Newark homes took a step closer to getting new lead service lines on Friday, part of a $75 million plan to deal with the city's much-maligned issues with water contamination.

On Feb. 22, the Newark City Council gave an official go-ahead to begin phase one of an eight-year effort to replace thousands of residential lead service lines at homes in the city. Phase one will include about 1,500 homes and will kick off in March. By the time the project is complete, about 15,000 homes across Newark will have new service lines, city officials said.

"This vote is an important step forward in meeting our goal to permanently replace residential lead service lines for our residents," Mayor Ras Baraka said. "We are proud of the progress we have made in addressing this issue and delivering solutions for the people of Newark." While the average cost of replacing residential lead service lines for a homeowner can range between $4,000 and $10,000, Newark homeowners' out-of-pocket payments are capped at $1,000 under a program developed by city and state officials.

"I would like to thank Governor [Phil] Murphy, legislative leaders and the City Council for working together with us to provide the initial funding necessary to make the Lead Service Line Replacement Program possible," Baraka said. "This is a major milestone toward modernizing Newark's water infrastructure for our families." City officials provided the following details about the project:

"Phase 1 construction is expected to take one year to complete. The work will be conducted by private contractors who were selected based on competitive bids. The application period opened to all Newark residents in April 2018. Those most at risk for elevated blood lead levels received additional outreach, including letters, to encourage sign-ups for the program, based on sophisticated mapping tools, demographic and scientific data." Phase 2 of the program is expected to begin in the third or fourth quarter of 2019, city officials said.

There is no deadline to apply for the Lead Service Line Replacement Program. The program is distributed evenly in each ward on a "first-come, first-serve basis."

A website with information about Newark lead service lines, which homes have been affected and how to obtain and install water filters, can be found at: https://www.newarkleadserviceline.com. NEWARK WATER CONTAMINATION: LEAD, FILTERS