As part of El Dorado Irrigation District's commitment to provide safe drinking water to all our customers, we comply with all regulations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Act. Due to recent revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule, EID will be required to create a mapped inventory of water service line materials throughout the District and make it publicly available by the rule compliance date of October 2024. 

EID has records of the District-owned service lines. However, there is little information available about the customer-owned portions. Starting in May of 2023 the District will begin to identify customer-owned service line materials and has selected thousands of service lines throughout the District to inspect.  EID will focus on inspecting service lines installed prior to the 1986 amendment to the Safe Water Drinking Act that banned the use of pipe, solder, or flux in public water systems that is not “lead free”.  If your service line was installed after 1986, most likely it will not be inspected for this project as these homes are assumed to not have lead pipes.

The District must inventory and categorize drinking water service line materials for all service lines within the service area, including both the District-side portion and the customer-side portion. In order to do this, the District may:

• Perform visual inspections of meter boxes.
• Collect customer information including pictures of where the service line enters the property.
• In many cases, the District may need to dig a small hole over the service line near the meter box, a procedure called “potholing”.  District employees may arrive prior to the potholing to mark other utility lines with spray paint before the inspection.  The District will endeavor to return the site to its original state before leaving.
• If your service line is to be inspected, you will receive a letter from the District beforehand. (See an example of the letter in English and in Spanish. )

Note: El Dorado Irrigation District employees will never come into your home. District employees will always be in a District vehicle with proper identification. Click here for information about how to identify an EID field employee.

The District began this project with a thorough records review and classification of District-side service line material composition.  This phase of the project is complete, and EID has confirmed there are no lead service lines anywhere in the District on the District side of the meter box.  In addition, the District has set up a comprehensive quality control and quality assurance program in order to assure the most complete and thorough inventory will be submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water.

If your service line is to be inspected, you will receive a letter from the District beforehand.

See an example of the letter in English and in Spanish. 

A water service line is the connection from the drinking water main to the foundation of the home (or building). Each home’s service line consists of two portions: the District owns the portion of the line from the drinking water main to the meter box (sometimes referred to as the meter pit) (“District-side”), and the homeowner owns the portion of the line from the meter box to their home’s foundation (“customer-side”). As seen in the graphic above.

The inventory project began summer 2021 and will continue until all service line materials are identified. The inventory will be made publicly available by October 2024.

May 2023: Field inspections began in Outingdale

If you have any questions about the LSLI project please email us at LCR@EID.org or call EID’s customer service division at (530) 642-4000.

1. Why is EID conducting a service line inventory project?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently updated the Lead and Copper Rule requiring all public water systems to create an inventory all water service lines regardless of ownership and make it available to the public no later than the rule compliance date of October 2024. The intent of this regulation is to identify any lead service lines and develop a replacement plan for them.

2. What is a water service line?

Water service lines are small pipes (typically ¾ inch to 4 inches) that carry water from EID’s water mains, located in the streets, into individual homes and buildings.

3. Who owns the water service line on my property?

EID owns the service line from the main in the street to the meter box (District-side) and the property owner owns the service line from the meter box to their home or building foundation (customer-side). 

4. What is the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR)? 

The LCR is a regulation promulgated in 1991 by the EPA that sets standards for lead and copper in drinking water. In December 2021, the EPA published the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). 

5. Is the District following the rules of the Lead and Copper Rule?

The District has been and continues to be in compliance with all aspects of the LCR.

6. Why was the Lead and Copper Rule revised?

The LCR was revised to further reduce the sources of lead in public drinking water. 
 
7. How will the revised Lead and Copper Rule impact EID’s water customers?
 
The revised lead and copper rule aims to further improve the safety and quality of drinking water for all customers. Water systems will need to implement new measures to monitor and reduce lead and copper levels, which may result in increased costs for the District. Since EID has not identified any lead service lines on its side of the meter, it anticipates there will be little need to retrofit existing service lines that could impact water service to customers. The work of identifying material composition of customer-side service lines may require EID employees to work in the vicinity of your water meter box over the next 18 months. If EID plans perform work around your water meter box it will send you a letter notifying the approximate time frame the work will be conducted.  It may also come out before the inspection and identify other utilities with spray paint. See an example of the letter in English and in Spanish. 

8. What materials can service lines be made of?

Service lines can be made of lead, galvanized steel, plastics, brass, copper, cast iron, or ductile iron.

9. Why should I be concerned about lead in my drinking water?

Lead is a naturally occurring element found in small amounts in the earth’s crust. While it has some beneficial uses, it can be toxic to humans and animals, causing health effects. Other sources of lead can include plumbing fixtures (faucets, valves, fittings, etc.) indoor copper plumbing pipes, with lead solder. Lead paint in homes is typically the greatest risk of lead exposure for young children. Learn more about the health effects of lead exposure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

10. What has been done to remove lead from drinking water?

In 1986, Congress banned the use of lead solder containing greater than 0.2% lead, and restricted the lead content of faucets, pipe and other plumbing materials to 8.0%. In the same year, California enacted an even more restrictive lead plumbing ban. 

11. What is EID doing to minimize Lead and Copper in my drinking water?

When water leaves EID’s water treatment plants, it does not have lead. In addition, EID water mains are made of materials that do not add lead to the water. EID has not identified any lead service lines owned by the District. To minimize the potential of lead leaching from home plumbing fixtures, EID has used a system of corrosion control since 1991.  Corrosion control creates a protective layer on the inside of your water pipes to help prevent any transfer of corrosion products to the water.

12. Which water systems are affected by the LCRR? 

LCRR is applicable to most public water systems throughout the United States. This is approximately 4,000 water system in California alone including EID’s three water systems (Outingdale, Strawberry, and the Main system).

13. What are the new requirements of the LCRR? 

The new requirements of the revised lead and copper rule include:
All water systems are required to conduct a material inventory of the service lines owned by the District and the customer to identify any lead service lines.
• Submit a report of the status of the lead service line inventory by October 16, 2024.
• Post a map of the service line material inventory on a website available to the general public by October 16, 2024. 
• Notify any customer served by a Lead service line, Galvanized Requiring Replacement, or if their service line is “Lead Status Unknown” by October 16, 2024.  A “Lead Status Unknown” service line is a line that has not yet been surveyed by EID and its material composition is not yet known.  EID will work to resolve all unknown service lines as quickly as it can.  A “galvanized requiring replacement” service line is any galvanized service line that was ever downstream of a lead service line. EID has conducted a records review and investigation into historical service line material used by the District and has not found any instance of installation of lead service lines and such all existing customer galvanized service lines will not require replacement. 
• Periodic sampling of drinking water within schools and childcare facilities built after 2010 starting in 2025.  EID has already tested all public K-12 schools in its service area and results can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/leadsamplinginschools.html. The District will initiate a schools testing program in 2025 and provide result to the general public on a routine basis.
• Accelerated replacement of District lead service lines if any are found.

14. What is the action level for lead under the LCRR? 

The Action Level for lead under the LCRR remains 15 parts per billion (ppb). If a water system exceeds this level in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, the system must take action to reduce lead levels. The LCCR proposes to add a lead Trigger Level of 10 ppb.  The trigger level is not a health-based standard. EPA proposed 10 ppb as a reasonable concentration that is below the Action Level and above the Practical Quantitation Level (the minimum concentration a substance can be measured with a high degree of confidence) of 5 ppb at which to require water systems to take a progressive set of actions to reduce lead level prior to an action level exceedance and to have a plan in place to rapidly respond if there is an level exceedance.

15. What is the Action Level for copper under the LCRR? 

The action level for copper under the LCRR remains 1,300 parts per billion (ppb). If a water system exceeds this level in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, the system must take action to reduce copper levels.

16. How do I know if I have a lead or galvanized steel service line that needs replacement?

EID is preparing a lead service line inventory. A map will be available on this website by the fall of 2024. You will be able to look up your property on this interactive map to learn if EID has identified the material of your service line. You can also call 530-642-4000 to schedule a free inspection. If EID does find a lead service line, EID will notify the customer by letter within 30 days of the identification and provide possible options for replacement. EID will replace any lead service line owned by the District. The customer will be encouraged to replace any line owned by them but will not be required to.  Learn more about the health effects of lead exposure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

17. Will EID inspect every customer service line?

EID will use several methods to determine if a customer has a lead service line.  It may not be necessary for us to conduct a physical inspection of the property. If we plan on performing a site visit you will be notified prior to conducting any work near the water meter. If your home was built after 1985 it is unlikely that your service line will be inspected due to it being installed after the state and federal lead bans of 1986.

18. If my home’s plumbing has lead solder, how can I protect myself right now?

When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, test methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791), or at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead. 

19. Where can I find more information about what is in my water?

Go to www.eid.org/WaterQuality to read more.

Review resources from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to learn more about lead exposure in drinking water and methods to reduce or prevent lead from seeping into the drinking water.

• Learn about health effects of lead exposure. (CDC)
• Review basic information about lead in drinking water. (EPA)
• Learn steps that can be taken to reduce lead in drinking water. (EPA)
• View or download the lead in drinking water infographic. (EPA)