You may have worked with property owners or tenants who have received letters in recent years informing them that their water service line material is “unknown,” “lead,” or “galvanized.”
Water authorities in our region have been mandated by the EPA to identify and replace all public and private lead and galvanized water service lines by 2037. In addition to sending letters seeking voluntary identification, some authorities are also providing a copy of the letter to title companies at closing with the final meter reading. GLVR previously published an article about this.
The Seller’s Property Disclosure requires sellers to identify the material of their plumbing, if known. Additionally, any notice received from a private or public entity regarding issues such as this may need to be disclosed on the Agreement of Sale.
Some authorities and their third-party contractors have also sent letters to homeowners informing them they may be eligible for a free replacement if their service line is lead or galvanized. GLVR encourages members to communicate with past, present, and future clients about considering this opportunity if free service line replacement is available. Funding is limited, so free lead or galvanized water service line replacements may not be available in the future.
The question on everyone’s mind is: What part of the water service line is the property owner responsible for?
The short answer: It depends.
In some cases, the property owner is responsible for the entire portion of the line from the house to the main. In other cases, the property owner is responsible for the portion of the line from the house to the curb box. Some authorities provide easy-to-understand graphics that illustrate which portion of the utility is the property owner’s responsibility.
GLVR recommends visiting our page dedicated to lead and galvanized water service lines, where you can determine whether your home is serviced by one of our local water authorities. From there, the authority’s website should provide information on lead service line replacement programs and which part of the service line is the responsibility of the private property owner.