Lead and Copper Rule Revision

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released revisions to its Lead and Copper Rule in 2021. The revisions require water providers to identify the material of water service lines within their water supply systems and to develop a Lead Service Line Inventory by October 16, 2024. 

The City of Emporia water has met or surpassed all federal water quality standards. This includes testing for lead to ensure our water is safe to drink. We are happy to report that our water distribution system remains in full compliance with the EPA’s current regulations. The water servicing the City of Emporia is non-detectable for lead as it leaves Emporia’s Water Treatment Plant. As this water flows to our customers, it reaches the service lines that bring water to the meter and then to the inside home plumbing. If the service line pipes and/or fittings contain lead, there is potential for lead to get into your drinking water. 

The goal of the EPA’s revisions is to identify these lead sources (both public and private), implement and/or optimize corrosion control treatment if lead release exceeds specified limits, and establish a plan to eliminate all sources of lead in the water supply system. Part of meeting this goal is to ensure the water you use is lead-free. 

Service Line Inventory 

The City of Emporia Utilities is diligently working to inventory the service line pipe material used in our public distribution system. This includes both the city-owned portion (from the water main to the meter) and customer-owned (from the meter to the building) portions of the service line. 

Self-Identification of Service Lines

It is important to identify all pipes’ materials to achieve EPA’s long-term goal to reduce lead exposure from drinking water. This is where we need your help. We have created a Water Service Line Self-Identification Survey for our customers to report their service line material to the City of Emporia Utilities. 

The privately-owned water service line material can be identified where the service enters your home or building. For residential customers, this is typically found in your crawl space, basement or garage, and can consist of a variety of materials. To identify your service line material, first locate the main shut-off valve serving the building. This valve will turn the water off to the entire building by pulling a handle (for example, a ball valve) or twisting a small wheel (for example, a gate valve).

When identifying your service line, pipes can be made of either plastic, copper, galvanized steel or lead. Please see the information below on identifying factors of each material.  

Plastic: White, blue or black in color and will often be labeled “PVC.” Magnet will not stick. Difficult to scratch, little to no color change. 

Copper: Copper or brown color. May have green tint. Magnet will not stick. Shiny copper color like a penny when scratched.

Galvanized Steel: Black, silver, gray or rust in color. Magnet will stick. Harder metal is somewhat difficult material to scratch (silver or gray color when scratched). 

Lead: Dull gray color. Magnet will not stick. Soft metal scratches easily with a key or a coin and produces silver or gray scratch. May appear bulged where connected to the valve.  

The City of Emporia Utilities and our customers have a joint responsibility to protect our drinking water from lead sources. Although we are currently unaware of any privately-owned lead service lines in our distribution system, customers may have lead service lines.  

Plumbing codes enforced on the privately-owned portion of the service line allowed lead service lines until August 1, 1978, and a 2-year grace period was allowed for buildings underway in either design or construction. Therefore, buildings completed before Aug. 1, 1980, are at the greatest risk for having lead service lines in the City of Emporia.   

 Contact 

If you have any further questions about identifying your service line, please email City of Emporia Utilities or call 434.634.4500.