I've watched plenty of people throw trash right out of their car windows, unfortunately.

Thanks for the education

The street part is called the water main, and that is 100% the responsibility of the city. The part on your property is called the "service line" and that is 100% the home owner's responsibility. So, there actually is no cost sharing. A zero interest loan is a decent offer, but you're still paying to have the service line replaced.

Seconded. Replacing a lead service line is an expensive job, so unless your house has been extensively updated (or is newer), you likely have at least a lead service line, if not other lead pipes in your house. If you have access to your service line where you live (e.g. you have access to the basement), it's simple to check if that pipe is lead. You can get a free lead water testing kit from Providence Water if you'd like to test it. For what it's worth, a Providence Water employee told me that the city water is safe to drink if you don't have lead pipes in your house.

I always assumed they ran into a cash flow problem and had to put development on hold.