Lead Service Line Inventory

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its Lead and Copper Rule Revisions which includes the Lead Service Line Inventory requirement. This initiative requires public water systems, including the Town of Friday Harbor, to inventory all water service lines and the materials they are made on the Town's side of the meter and the customer's side of the meter. This mandate aims to help safeguard public health by ensuring that water systems across the United States develop and maintain comprehensive inventories of service line materials. The EPA requires the inventory to be complete by October 16, 2024.

What will the inventory database include?

The inventory for 2024 includes 20% of service lines installed before 1986. Service line materials must be identified in one of four categories: 

  • lead
  • galvanized steel requiring replacement
  • non-lead
  • unknown

Any lead or galvanized service lines must include a street address. In addition, it is recommended that the inventory include a detailed location description, sub-classifications for service line materials such as poly (plastic) or copper, and documentation of any other service line characteristics.

You can find the inventory database summary here.

Does this mean there is lead in our water? 

Lead and copper are both naturally occurring metals. Lead and copper have never been detected in the Town’s source water. Both have been used to make household plumbing fixtures for many years, although Congress banned the installation of lead solder, pipes, and fittings in 1986. Both contaminants occur in drinking water when water reacts with these metals, usually in household pipes and fixtures. This is particularly likely to happen when water sits in pipes for several hours. A water provider must begin certain water treatment steps when lead or copper reach an actionable level in ten percent of the homes sampled. Town water crews did not find any lead pipe during this required inventory.

The Town of Friday Harbor conducts water quality testing regularly throughout our water treatment and distribution systems to determine any presence of water contaminates. For more information about the Town's water quality, review the Consumer Confidence Report. 

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