Latest News

How is Your Lead Service Line Inventory Coming Along? Tips to Get the Data You Need 

Heather Syverson, AE2S Communications Strategist

Depending on the size and age of your public water system, completing the lead service line inventory may feel like one of the most labor-intensive regulatory compliance efforts your water system has ever undertaken. 

Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), water systems have less than two years to complete their baseline service line inventories and create service line replacement plans for all lead and galvanized requiring replacement identified within the system. The baseline inventory – which includes connectors under the LCRI – must be submitted by November 1, 2027. 

There are many ways to gather the information needed to fill out the inventory. How many of the following methods have you employed to date?  

Check Historical Records 
A great place to start is looking up the date a lead pipe ban went into effect locally – whether at the state, county, or city level. Once the date is known, review aerial imagery of the service area from before and after the ban. This method can tell you where lead pipes are unlikely to be found based on construction occurring after the ban was instituted. 

Survey Your Customers 
Asking your customers to complete a short survey is one of the most cost- and time-efficient ways to gather data for your service line inventory. However, one thing we have learned through the service line inventory process is that a good share of the public does not know what a service line is or where it can be found. Therefore, a robust customer education campaign deployed in conjunction with a survey is imperative. The campaign should include several of the following tactics: personalized letters or mailers, town hall events, billing inserts, website announcements, app or text alerts, advertisements, and news releases.  

A major benefit of digital surveys that can be accessed via QR code or web address is the dramatic reduction in manual data entry. Another digital survey benefit is that photos can be uploaded to allow customer pipe identifications to be confirmed by experts. AE2S considers requiring a photo to be a best practice because it creates a record that water system personnel and regulatory agencies can review in the future.  

A drawback to digital surveys is that not everyone has access to the internet or familiarity utilizing QR codes. These can make online surveys challenging to complete for some segments of the population. The low-tech nature of paper surveys means more people can easily complete them. However, challenges to paper surveys include the amount of data entry required to add the information to an inventory, as well as the physical space or digital storage capacity needed to scan and save completed paper surveys.  

Some clients accept survey responses and photos via email or text messages, which effectively reduces the need for utility staff to sort through stacks of paper and scan printed photos. These methods unfortunately do not reduce the amount of data entry required to add the information to an inventory.   

Conduct Inspections 
If a utility has the time, budget, and staffing to do so, conducting door-to-door inspections can be an effective way to complete a service line inventory. Even if your system does not have a staff or budget that can accommodate door-to-door inspections, it should become a standard practice to identify the service line any time utility staff visit a home or business. In addition, some utilities moved up water meter and water main replacement projects to occur simultaneously with the service line inventory. This allows pipe materials to be documented by staff and contractors as the replacement project is underway.  

Finally, potholing may be employed as a last resort if the water system is unable to access a service line any other way. This is one of the most disruptive inspection options, as it involves digging up customers’ yards or public streets to view and identify both sides of the service line. If the water system does not have its own equipment, it can be costly to hire a contractor to pothole and restore property to its previous state.   

Multi-Prong Approach is Best 
Over the past three years, AE2S has been working with clients in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, and Utah to complete their service line inventories. We have discovered there are many ways to gather data and a multi-prong approach is the most effective.