You can find your water service line by finding the water meter, which measures the amount of water going into your home for daily use; the meter is typically found inside an underground box in your yard with a lid on top. The water service line is the pipe that connects the water meter to the plumbing inside your house. 

Lead was often used for water service lines until 1960. It was used in household plumbing fixtures and solder until 1986, when it was banned. From 1986 to 2014, plumbing fixtures could have up to 8% lead and still be “lead free.” However, current standards for “lead free” fixtures allow only 0.25% lead content.

Many homes and buildings - especially those built before 1986 - may have service lines and/or internal plumbing and fixtures made of lead.

When water leaves the water treatment plant, it does not have lead; treated water is safe according to federal and state regulations. The water mains in the street that transport water from the treatment plant are made mostly of iron and plastic. The water mains do not add lead to the drinking water. 

Lead can get into drinking water from the plumbing inside your home or building or the service line between the street and your home or building. As the lifespan of a lead pipe is about 100 years, this issue could persist in your plumbing or service line for many years before it is replaced, or the pipe is discovered to be lead. 

If there is lead in your building's plumbing, lead may seep into the water when it sits in the service line or plumbing without being used for many hours, such as overnight. This is why the best way to stop lead from getting into your drinking water is to replace any service line that contains lead as well as older plumbing and fixtures in your home.

Union County Water is committed to providing safe and clean water to all of our customers. We comply with all laws set by regulatory agencies to maintain high water quality. In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised their Lead and Copper Rule. Under the revisions, water systems must do a water service line materials inventory. This page will be continually updated with what we are doing to comply with EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule.  

Union Country Water is currently creating an inventory to find out if our system has any lead or galvanized steel water service lines. Given that most of our system was constructed since the ban on lead pipes, we anticipate few, if any, lead or galvanized steel water service lines in our system. Our customers should not be concerned about the safety of their drinking water. This inventory is a proactive effort to protect your health.

As a follow-up question to this FAQ, you may wonder why some galvanized steel service lines need to be replaced, but not others. Union County Water will replace our galvanized steel service lines that meet the EPA’s definition of “galvanized steel requiring replacement. Under this definition, galvanized steel lines that were or are currently downstream of a lead or unknown material service line must be replaced. If there is no proof that the galvanized service line was never downstream of a lead service line, it requires replacement.  

Union County is constantly evaluating the needs of our water system and replacing water mains that have reached the end of their service life or need a capacity upgrade. However, the service life of a metal pipe could be up to 100 years, which means there is a small possibility lead pipes may remain in our system. 

We will finish an initial inventory in 2023 based on our records. The inventory will list all service lines made from lead, galvanized steel, and unknown materials. If service lines are “unknown,” Union County Water will use other methods to learn the material. 

Inventory results will be available on our website by October 2024. At that time, you will be able to look up the status of your service line.

If you would like to know the material of your service line before the inventory goes live, you can test it yourself following these instructions from EPA. 

If you think you have a lead service line or lead solder, a metal alloy made from lead and tin that was used to join pipes together, flush your system by running cold water for five minutes after the water in your home has not been used for more than six hours. Flushing means your water is coming directly from the main, where lead is rare, instead of from sitting in a pipe in contact with lead or lead parts. Cleaning your faucet aerator will also decrease lead build-up. For a more permanent solution, a licensed plumber can replace lead or lead-soldered pipes with lead-free pipes.

You can also purchase a National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) 53-certified faucet water filtration system or a filter pitcher that will remove lead. A water filter will remove lead that may have entered the water from the service line, indoor plumbing, and plumbing fixtures. More information about NSF filters and a list of certified filters are on the NSF filter web page.