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In 1986, federal laws were enacted that prohibited the use of lead in plumbing and fixtures, which can leach into the water supplies and cause serious health problems.

While the laws prevented new lead installations, they did not require removal of historic lead service lines. Utilities have been required to sample for lead in their systems, and many utilities add a corrosion inhibiting additive to the water to limit any possible leaching of metal.

Regulations have been advanced and made more stringent over time, and in the latest round of regulations to combat this highly visible issue, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requiring public utilities to develop a comprehensive water supply line inventory. The goal is to provide better documentation of what systems are in place, provide more information to the public, and more efficiently plan for replacements where needed.

This means that by October 2024, water utilities must review their entire system and identify all properties where service lines are constructed out of potentially hazardous lead or galvanized steel materials. This includes both the utility-owned portion of service lines, as well as the privately-owned piece. Importantly, any service lines with “unknown” materials will be regulated as if they were lead.  

Developing an inventory is a task that, for most of these water suppliers, is daunting, for several reasons.

First, while records may be detailed and current for assets owned by the agency, the records regarding utilities on private property are often incomplete or non-existent. Second, many utilities have been hard at work since the 1986 amendment to the Safe Clean Drinking Water Act to remove lead fixtures from their systems and take other measures to comply with subsequent amendments.

This new regulation, and the short time frame in which it must be achieved, leaves many utilities feeling like the finish line keeps moving further out, with diminishing returns.

This new regulation enters relatively new and unchartered territory, as there are not many practices and procedures prepared to create inventories of service line materials on private properties.

But there is a path forward, and WSP USA is in a strong position to help these utilities create the roadmap that works for them.

There are some things public utilities can do today that can make this daunting effort more manageable.

Even the most efficient process is going to be an expense for all public utilities. Fortunately, as noted above, there will be federal and state funding available to cover a significant amount of these expenses. In my next article, I will explore this aspect of the lead and copper requirements.

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