Status Update:

The Auburn Water District (PWS ID 2017000) have submitted the initial Water Service Line Inventory. The compliance date for submitting a water service line inventory (SLI) in Massachusetts is October 16, 2024. Our SLI is publicly available to all our customers at the Auburn Water District’s office.

In accordance with the MassDEP Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, the District will notify customers before November 15 with a mailed letter if their service line material is either unknown or Galvanized Requiring Replacement (GRR).  

• Galvanized Requiring Replacement (GRR) on the Customer Portion: the customer-owned portion of the property’s water service line may contain lead. The designation of “Galvanized Requiring Replacement” means that the galvanized portion of the service line located on the private side must be replaced. The private side of service lines are owned by the property owners and therefore are the responsibility of the property owners to replace them.
• Unknown Service Line Material on the District Portion: the District-owned portion of the property’s water service line is unknown. The District will be implementing a plan to identify these services, and no action at this time is needed by the customer

Water Service Line Inventory

What is the Water Service Line Inventory Project?

The Water Service Line Inventory Project is a regulatory requirement of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly revised Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR).

In 2021, US EPA published revisions to the lead and copper rule that are intended to better protect children and communities from lead exposure risks and support efforts to remove lead from drinking water. The revisions require all Public Water Systems to complete an inventory of all service lines connected to their distribution system and develop a Lead Service Line Replacement Plan. The inventory must include the pipe material and other information for both the system-owned and private-owned portions of the service line between the water main and a structure.

The goal is to eliminate all non-copper services from the water distribution system. Non-copper services may be made of lead or other materials that can corrode, leak or fail over time. Through this program, non-copper piping will be replaced with copper piping from the water main (street) to the water meter (basement) at eligible properties.  Auburn Water District will coordinate with owner to obtain private property access to complete this work.

 

Activities planned for the project include:

In working toward a lead-free water distribution system for its customers, the Auburn Water District applied for and received Financial Assistance under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to complete the water service line inventory and lead service line replacement plan. Activities planned for the project include:

• reviewing existing records that may contain information on the material of each service line.
• distributing a survey with instructions so customers may provide information or photos of their service line to help identify the pipe material.
• conducting service line inspections in person where Auburn Water District staff and/or a contractor will inspect the service line as it enters a customer’s property.
• providing public education and notification materials to customers and the community regarding lead and development of the inventory and replacement plan.

The Auburn Water District is committed to providing its customers with a safe and reliable source of drinking water and regularly conducts sampling for lead in accordance with state and federal requirements. Information regarding lead in drinking water is provided in the Water District’s Annual Water Quality Report.   The District’s website will be updated regularly to include information on the new requirements under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, the status of funding under the DWSRF, and additional details on those activities listed above to develop the inventory.

For more information on lead in drinking water please visit:

MassDEP: https://www.mass.gov/lead-in-drinking-water

US EPA: https://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead

Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative: https://www.lslr-collaborative.org/