Work to replace thousands of lead pipes in Passaic County may come to a standstill if residents don't respond. Officials say there are repercussions if residents don't utilize the mandatory and free state-covered lead service line replacement program.

Robert Karfunkel, of Passaic, says he is keeping his family safe by taking advantage of the Passaic Valley Water Commission's lead service line replacement program to replace lead water pipes at his home on Howard Avenue.

"There's a reason they are doing it. I think it's beneficial. Water is in everything. Whether you're in the shower, you’re drinking it, cooking with it - so having clean water is important,” he says. “I hope more people take advantage of this.”

For the past two years, PVWC has been working with Paterson, Clifton, Passaic and Prospect Park to replace more than 6,000 customer-owned lead waterlines. But access hasn't been easy into people's homes to swap out the pipes.

"Please support the program. It is free. We know it might be an inconvenience with scheduling. It's only a couple of hours.," said Jim Muelller, executive director of the Passaic Valley Water Commission.

Crews still need to hear from more than 330 people who still have not responded. Nearly 115 of them are from the city of Passaic, according to officials. Those working on the project say they need people to respond and grant access to their homes to complete the project on time.

PVWC says that the agency is getting ahead of the state mandate that requires all lead water lines to be replaced in a decade.

Passaic Mayor Hector Lora says he's grateful to all the residents who have responded and gotten their pipes changed but is encouraging the rest to respond because there will be repercussions if not.

"It is a mandatory required program where everyone must participate. So you will either have it done for free or you will end up paying out of pocket $10,000 to get it done," said Lora.

Officials say they are extending their timeline until the Summer of 2025 just to make sure everything gets done correctly.

Crews say they have just over 1,300 lines left to replace.