This week, the City of Arlington will debut a web page for residents to check the material of their water service lines. The website at ArlingtonTX.gov/SLI shows the results of Arlington’s Water Service Line Inventory, which began after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated guidelines for lead and copper monitoring by public drinking water providers.

Arlington Water Utilities employees have inspected 65,901 water service lines throughout the City over the past 18 months to comply with new federal rules aimed at decreasing lead exposure in the U.S. None of the water lines examined were found to be made of lead.

The rule update was known as the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR). The EPA further amended its requirements earlier this month by finalizing a new mandate called the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).

The service line inventory due by Oct. 16, 2024 identifies all service lines in a water system’s service area as either lead, galvanized requiring replacement (GRR), non-lead, or unknown lead status. Arlington has completed its inventory, by both examining relevant building records and making visual inspections.

• About 42,000 of the water services to homes and businesses in the City were built after a lead ban on plumbing materials went into effect in Arlington in 1988. For many of those, the pipe material used in the construction of the public water lines is also listed in records.
•  The 65,901 addresses that staff inspected over the past 18 months were all built before the lead ban on plumbing materials went into effect in the City. Of those publicly and privately-owned water lines inspected, none were found to have lead services lines. Just under 200 addresses have what the EPA defines as galvanized requiring replacement private service lines. Under the new rule, Arlington Water Utilities must send notifications and further information to these addresses by Nov. 15, 2024.

 Lead exposure can lead to anemia, weakness, kidney and brain damage, and even death in extreme cases. Lead is a health risk to everyone but in particular to pregnant women and children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components in service lines and home plumbing. The Lead and Copper Rule, a U.S. EPA program, is designed to minimize lead and copper levels in drinking water to protect public health.

 Arlington Water Utilities conducted its latest rounds of lead and copper testing of tap water in 2023, as required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. All 50 samples collected from addresses throughout Arlington showed lead levels well below the EPA Action Level for lead of 15 parts per billion. The results of these tests are reported each year in the Arlington Water Utilities Consumer Confidence Report.

 For more information about the Lead Service Line Inventory, please visit ArlingtonTX.gov/water and click on the Water Quality link.

 A Spanish version of the Arlington Water Utilities Service Line Inventory is available online at ArlingtonTX.gov/SLI_ES.

 A Vietnamese version of the Arlington Water Utilities Service Line Inventory is available online at ArlingtonTX.gov/SLI_VI.