The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently altered its drinking water standards related to lead and copper. This is called the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR). The rule was enhanced to protect property owners by reducing their exposure to lead and copper. Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters your body.
With this revision, the City of Statesville is required to create a mapped inventory of water service line materials throughout the city for any homes built in or prior to 1986 and make it publicly available by the rule compliance date of October 2024. Lead piping and lead solder were banned in 1986 and therefore, if your home was built after that date, it is not suspected to have any lead piping or lead solder joints in its construction.
In 2021, the EPA revised the Lead & Copper Rule (LCR) to include a new requirement that all water utilities across the country must create initial inventories of their water service lines and connections to find any lead service line or connection that may exist in a water system. These inventories must also include the customers’ side of the water meter.
Over the last several months, the City of Statesville conducted an initial inventory of our service lines that connect our water mains to your water meter to determine if any of the lines are made of lead. You can view the Initial Inventory Service Line Dashboard by clicking the link below. For more information about the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule, visit www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/revised-lead-and-copper-rule.
It is important to note the City of Statesville’s drinking water is lead-free when it leaves our treatment plant, but as water travels through our system to your faucet, lead can enter the water through service lines or the corrosion of plumbing materials in your private home or building plumbing.
Our water treatment process targets the possibility of lead entering our system or your plumbing, minimizing the possibility it may leach into the water. We perform routine water testing to ensure our treatment is effective and our overall results are published every in year in our Consumer Confidence Report.
The City of Statesville must inventory and categorize drinking water service line materials for all homes within our service area built in or prior to 1986; this includes both the system-owned and customer-owned portion. The City of Statesville will be using different methods to inventory these pipes. Historical records, service line replacements, physical inspections, and the help from residents via an online survey application. This survey is meant to help us collect information on the customer-owned portion.
A service line is an underground pipe that carries water from the City of Statesville’s water main to a home or business. Each service line requires connections to the water main and to the water lines and plumbing on a customer’s property. Each service line and connection may consist of multiple plumbing material types including, but not limited to, lead, copper, galvanized iron, and plastic.
An investigation is required to determine whether water service lines or connections on private property contain lead. This work cannot be conducted without your permission. We need to partner with homeowners to find out if the lead exists on their property.
You will want to locate your water service line in the lower level of your home (an example of the line is shown in the graphic below) then, complete our quick online survey.
You can identify the material used in your service line through a visual inspection at the point where the water service line enters your home. Find the section of plumbing that enters your home near the foundation, usually in the crawl space, or basement; there is often a valve at that location. Be careful not to confuse it with the sewer or gas line. Temporarily remove any insulation on the pipe, then you can scrape a small section of the pipe with a coin or screwdriver if it is dirty or discolored and use a strong magnet to test the pipe. Remember to replace the insulation if you removed it earlier.
See the types of service lines in the image here:
Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or worsen existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems.
Ways to Reduce Potential Exposure to Lead:
Run the cold water to flush out lead. If water has not been used for several hours, run the cold-water faucet for 5 minutes to flush lead from interior plumbing or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using for drinking or cooking.
Use cold water for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula. Do not cook with or drink water from the hot water tap; lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Do not use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.
Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
Seek alternative water sources or treatment. You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter. If you use a filter, make sure it is certified to remove lead. Read the directions to learn how to properly install and use your cartridge and when to replace it. Using the cartridge after it has expired can make it less effective at removing lead. Do not run hot water through the filter. Contact NSF International at 800-NSF-8010 or www.nsf.org for information on performance standards for water filters.
Clean your faucet aerators. Regularly clean your faucet’s screen (also referred to as an aerator). Sediment, debris, and metals, including lead particles, can collect in the aerator. If lead particles are caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water. These screens should be removed and cleaned regularly. After removing the aerator, it is recommended you flush the cold-water line for 5 minutes.Test your water for lead. Affordable water testing kits are available to help ensure the quality and safety of your home’s water supply. The only way to accurately determine the level of lead in drinking water at your home or building is to have the water tested. These kits can be easily purchased at various retailers and are a simple way to monitor water conditions.Test your child’s lead level. Contact your local health department or healthcare provider to find out how you can get your child tested for lead if you are concerned about exposure.Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is also available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.
Providing safe, reliable drinking water to our consumers and the community is our top priority, and we are committed to reducing lead exposure in water. Should you require any additional information or assistance, please feel free to reach out to us at 704-768-5555 or contact us using the form below:
