In 1986, Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to prohibit the use of pipes, solder, or flux that are not "lead free" in public water systems or plumbing in facilities providing water for human consumption. In 1996, Congress further amended the SDWA to prohibit the use of pipe and plumbing fittings and fixtures that are not lead free in the installation and repair of any public water system or plumbing in a facility providing water for human consumption. The 1996 amendments also required lead-free plumbing fittings and fixtures (endpoint devices) to comply with a lead leaching standard.

In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) that public water system must comply with. In accordance with the 2021 LCRR, the District is required to conduct an inventory of water service lines serving each District customer and submit our findings to the Washington State Department of Health by October 16, 2024.

Shown in the above diagram, two sections of the water service line need to be inventoried:

Utility (District) Owned: the line that runs from our water main to your water meter.
Customer Owned: the line that runs from the water meter to your home.

The District is compiling a database of properties in our service area (approximately 3,400 service connections). The District has not used lead in our service lines from the main to the meter and King County banned the use of lead service lines in 1968. However, if your home was built before 1968, it could have lead pipe in the customer-owned section of line between the water meter (typically located at the property line) and your home.

The District has not found and does not expect to find any District-owned lead service lines. However, if we do discover lead service lines at your property, you will be directly notified.

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