Lawrence is repairing miles of underground sewer pipe across the city using a cheaper and less invasive method that studies show could pose health risks for workers and community members due to chemical emissions.
Cured-in-place pipe lining repairs damaged pipes by inserting a resin-soaked liner, inflating it with air and heating it until it hardens, creating a new pipe inside the old one.
Michael Leos, a spokesperson for Lawrence’s Municipal Services and Operations department, said Lawrence has used CIPP to rehabilitate more than 90 miles of sewer pipes since the 1990s.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the process carries health risks. Emissions are released during the heating process, including suspected carcinogens such as styrene, hazardous air pollutants and other unidentified compounds.
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A USA Today investigation in 2023 found people across the country had experienced nausea and lightheadedness after CIPP lining was used to repair pipes in their communities, and some cases included symptoms that persisted long after exposure.
The City of Lawrence has paid Insituform, a major CIPP provider, more than $2.2 million for repairing pipes all over town within the past few years. Work is currently underway on another $3.3 million contract, according to city documents. Leos said the current project includes approximately 17 miles of sewer to be rehabilitated before the end of 2026.
CIPP is cheaper than traditional pipe repair methods and doesn’t involve tearing up roads, allowing for less traffic disruptions. Leos said CIPP sewer rehabilitation has the same 50-year design life as open trench replacement. A November 2024 memo to the Lawrence City Commission stated that “the cost of 8-inch sewer main rehabilitation for this project is under $34 per foot compared to open trench sewer replacement projects that have averaged more than $300 per foot” — about 11.3% of the cost.
When Eleanor Gardner bought her home in the Pinkney neighborhood, she knew settling down in an older part of town meant repair work would likely be needed while she lived there. But after noticing Insituform trucks parked in her neighborhood a few weeks ago, she learned the company was contracted to work on CIPP repairs. She was alarmed she hadn’t received notice from the city and reached out for more information.
She said information she received from the city left her with lots of questions. She supplied recommendations other states suggest for CIPP repairs but said the only advice she was given from the city was to fill her p-traps, a curved plumbing pipe that can help filter sewer gases.
Research has shown that filling p-traps with water does not prevent exposure to CIPP emissions, as high levels of pressure from the CIPP process can cause water blowback.
Gardner said her pipes made gurgling and bubbling sounds, and some of her neighbors reported having kickback from their toilets.
She said the city told her the crew was only cleaning the current pipes as preliminary work for the project, and property owners would be notified 24 hours in advance of the projects.
“That seems extremely dismissive of our concerns,” she said. “I have some reservations about whether they’re going to proceed with safety in mind.”
Leos said contractors notify single-family homes and townhouses 24 hours before installation. Larger properties, such as apartment complexes and commercial buildings, receive at least three days’ notice.
USA Today reported that many people receive notice from Insituform before a project is set to begin, usually with instructions to fill their p-traps with water, turn off sump pumps and refrain from running water. But these notifications often omit information on the risk of fumes from the CIPP process.
Andrew Whelton is a professor of civil and construction engineering and environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University who has done research on the safety risks associated with CIPP.
His and his colleagues’ research discovered that the emissions from CIPP were more dangerous than many assumed.
He said CIPP has a place as a cheaper and less invasive repair method, but it’s that crucial workers take proper precautions, like capturing emissions instead of letting them freely flow into the environment.
“CIPP technology is an excellent process to repair pipes if it’s used in a safe manner,” he said. “Yet, we haven’t seen industry adopt that practice yet. So when the process comes to your neighborhood, you need to pay attention.”
A 2023 safety alert from the California Department of Public Health recommends more substantive measures to prevent vapor intrusion. It advises informing residents and businesses about potential exposure, instructing them to leave and contact emergency services if odors enter a building and coordinating with local health officials to monitor air quality. Additional precautions include installing vents and capturing emissions near sensitive areas.
“There’s a whole battery of best practices that could be adopted to minimize the risk to households and businesses nearby,” Whelton said.
Leos said the city is aware of the research into the effects of CIPP fumes, and repair crews are following recommendations from the National Association of Sewer Companies. These recommendations include placing a 15-foot perimeter around the work area and putting exhaust stacks a minimum of 6 feet above ground. But they do not require the capturing of emissions.
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One of the city’s core strategic plan goals is to promote strong and welcoming neighborhoods, but Gardner said she felt the city was disregarding this goal by not following every possible option to keep residents safe.
“I would really hope that the city will do their due diligence and take this public health concern seriously and do what they reasonably can,” Gardner said. “I fully agree that upgrading aging infrastructure is important. … But I think there are steps that they could take to make sure that this is done in a safer manner.”
Azuria Water Solutions, Insituform’s parent company, did not respond to an email seeking comment for this article.
Recent and upcoming repairs
Residents may see white smoke coming from sewers while CIPP repairs are underway.
Whelton’s team recommends people close doors and windows, fill p-traps with water and leave the building while pipe-curing is underway, especially if there are children in the building. People should report unusual odors or illnesses to health officials or call 911, and seek medical advice from health officials — not contractors or pipe owners.
Here’s a map of sites where CIPP repairs have been recently completed or are underway or planned as part of the current project, set to end in 2026:
MapSeriesv3-compressed-3(Click here to open the maps in a new tab, or click here to download a high-resolution, searchable PDF of the maps. Please note that the 143-MB file may be slow to download.)
Here’s a list of the locations (click here to open in a new tab):
MS9-N23003_SIteList-Insituform-projects-2025Here’s a list of CIPP projects that were completed as part of a 2021 contract with Insituform (click here to open in a new tab):
MS-20-9909-1-InstallList-Insituform-2021-projects-ocr-rIf our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
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