Water Service Lines
Important Information About Your
Drinking Water Service Lines
As mandated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Lead and Copper Rule (40CFR Part 141 Subpart 1), the City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities – Water Division recently conducted an inventory of all water lines within our system. The purpose of the inventory is to identify the material utilized throughout the system, both the City responsible infrastructure within the public street and the customer responsible infrastructure that begins immediately beyond the water meter. The City of Fresno is committed to delivering safe drinking water and encourage customers to inspect your water connection. See the attached diagram depicting all associated parts that were included in the inventory effort.
Typical Residential Water Service Connection
As a City of Fresno water customer, a notice was sent to those service connections that were classified as “unknown”. The inventory, and subsequent notice, is not a result of an emergency, but rather due to uncertain materials used beyond the water meter on private property. In the past, various materials may have been used during construction of the system that may include lead or galvanized pipe.
Lead Service Lines (LSL) or certain galvanized pipe can potentially place you at risk for exposure to lead; therefore, the line will only need to be replaced if it is determined to be LSL or Galvanized Requiring Replacement (GRR).
The City of Fresno has never encountered any lead service lines but will be required to verify that our system does not contain any for certain.
If you received a notice from the City of Fresno it is because your customer service line on private property is unknown at this time.
If you did not receive a notice no further action is required on your part.
State Required Testing
The City of Fresno routinely monitors for lead in the distribution system and the most recent water sample results received on October of 2022 showed that the 90th percentile of all lead levels measured in the distribution system was 0.000 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The level for which action is required due to lead in drinking water is 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or 15 micrograms per liter (μg/L). The most recent water sample results do not exceed the action level of 0.015 mg/L for lead.
It is important to note that this is not an emergency. Your water is safe to drink and meets all federal and state safe drinking water standards. You do not need to use an alternative water supply (e.g., bottled water).
How can I find out if my service line is Lead, Galvanized Requiring Replacement, or Lead Status Unknown?
If you received a notice from the City of Fresno’s Department of Public Utilities Water Division, it is because the material used for your service line is unknown.
Additionally, the City of Fresno has partnered with 120 Water and California State University, Fresno to develop an interactive map showing the service line material for residences in the city. The map can be viewed by visiting https://pws-ptd.120wateraudit.com/Fresno-CA.
If your service line is categorized as a Lead Status Unknown composition, you can help the Water Division identify your service line material.
- EPA has developed an online step-by-step guide to help people identify lead pipes in their homes called Protect Your Tap: A Quick Check for Lead. (https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead)
- Other organizations have also provided tools to identify service line material, such as the LSLR Collaborative (https://www.lslr-collaborative.org/identifying-service-line-material.html)
Contact the City of Fresno’s Department of Public Utilities Water Division at (559) 621- 5361 to inform us if your service line has been incorrectly categorized to share any information you may find about your service line, or to inform us of your plans to alter or replace your service line as this may require us to replace the system portion sooner.
What happens next?
We are committed to identifying and replacing any lead or galvanized service lines that are or were, downstream of a lead service line. The City of Fresno will begin a process called Stratified Random Sampling to further investigate and identify service line materials. If your home is not classified as LSL, GRR, or Unknown, no further action is required.
If your service line is identified as containing lead or certain galvanized material, we anticipate replacing the City’s portion of the line by 2030, as required by the Division of Drinking Water (DDW). This process may be expedited if you plan to alter or replace the customer-owned side of your service line earlier, in which case we may need to replace the City’s portion at the same time.
Lead Related Health Information
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 cause new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate 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.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink water at this service address, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). If you have concerns about your water quality, the State Water Board’s Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program has a map of laboratories that can test your water at the consumer’s expense, which can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/labs/
If you still have health concerns from potential lead exposure in your drinking water, there are point-of-use (POU) devices that can be used on your drinking water taps to provide an additional barrier of protection. A list of these residential treatment devices can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/device/watertreatmentdevices.html
If you have other health issues concerning the consumption of this water, you may wish to consult your health care provider.