City of Atlanta assures water lines are lead-free after letter concerns residents
The City of Atlanta is reassuring property owners after a letter about lead in their water lines raised concerns. A statement from the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management (DWM) said the letters were an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirement, and service lines are lead-free. DWM recently sent letters to property owners informing them […] The post City of Atlanta assures water lines are lead-free after letter concerns residents appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
The City of Atlanta is reassuring property owners after a letter about lead in their water lines raised concerns.
A statement from the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management (DWM) said the letters were an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirement, and service lines are lead-free.
DWM recently sent letters to property owners informing them that the material of the water service line to their properties had “yet to be determined,” classifying them as “Lead Status Unknown.”
While these letters said “all or a portion of the service line may be made of lead” and detailed how to reduce lead exposure in drinking water, the Dec. 3 press release said these letters were just “a regulatory requirement for many utilities.”
“DWM has collected hundreds of samples to maintain compliance and has not found a single lead service line,” the release said. “However, until the sample size and certification technique meet EPA’s requirement to verify that the City does not have lead service lines, DWM must notify customers.”
The department is continuing service line identification and replacement, and if any line is found to contain lead, they will alert the customer with a separate notice with information about replacement and financing opportunities.
These notifications come as part of an EPA mandate requiring all US water systems to identify and replace lead pipes by October 2034. The EPA announced last month that $3 billion in new funding would be provided to states to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.
Customers are encouraged to aid in the verification of customer-owned portions of the line by visiting epa.gov/protectyourtap for instructions on identifying service line material.
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The post City of Atlanta assures water lines are lead-free after letter concerns residents appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.
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