Inventory of Water Line Materials

Installed PVC water pipes in trench

In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an order for all community water systems throughout the nation to develop an inventory of any lead-based service lines in their area.

To comply with that order, CUD is currently surveying home, businesses, and other properties within its distribution network to search for any water lines that contain lead.

However, CUD does not expect to find any lead-based water lines for the following reasons:
• Lead was banned as an element of water service in the mid-1980s. The majority of properties CUD serves were developed after that date. Therefore, no homes, businesses, or institutions built after that time carried any questionable water service lines.
• CUD does not permit the usage of lead in any water lines we install and/or operate.
• Water lines from the main to the meter are the responsibility of CUD. Service lines running from the meter into the building are the responsibility of the property owner. However, it is highly unlikely that many service lines in our area would contain lead due to the ban in the 1980s.
• CUD does have a list of customers whose lines were installed prior to the lead ban. Our professionals are checking both the CUD side and the customer side of those lines.
• For decades now, CUD has installed water lines made of PVC pipe or ductile iron – both of which are considered standard according to government and utility industry guidance.

CUD is in the process of surveying lines throughout the county to carry out the EPA’s order. We’re working on the list.

This may involve a minimal amount of digging to locate the line. If that is necessary, CUD will restore the area where the digging takes place. However, it’s unlikely excavation will be needed.

To repeat: CUD continues to carry out orders from the EPA about locating any lead-based water lines in our distribution network. However, based on CUD’s history of infrastructure installation and upgrades, it is highly unlikely that any lead-based water lines are within our service area.