Greensboro, NC
Home Menucontact Lead & Copper Compliance staff
Call 336-373-2527
or email us.
Lead & Copper Compliance Program
-
Initial Service Line Inventory Dashboard
Click here to view service line material classification.
-
Lead & Copper Program Survey
Click here and follow the instructions to submit your service line material information.
-
Who is Responsible for What?
Click here to see an example of service line ownership.
-
Field Investigations
What is Vacuum Excavation?
Monitoring lead in water is nothing new and at the same time vitally important. In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented a Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), which included tap-water monitoring, water quality regulations, and industry trends to protect the public from consuming lead and high levels of copper.
While these regulations apply to new plumbing installation and repairs, they historically did not address existing water service lines installed or repaired before 1986, when the Safe Drinking Water Act prohibited using any pipe, plumbing fitting or fixture, solder, or flux in public water systems that are more likely to have some lead plumbing.
In 2021, the EPA revised the LCR, creating the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR), which addressed existing water pipes installed before 1986. The LCRR directed all public utilities in the US to inventory water service lines extending from water mains to each customer’s home or business. This better protects communities from exposure to lead in drinking water and ensures lead is not found in the country's water-service lines.
In 2023, the EPA improved the LCRR by developing the Lead and Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI). These improvements outline lead pipe identification and replacement with public utilities and improved sampling requirements.
Learn more from these EPA resources.
Lead and Copper Rule Revision Timeline
| Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) | Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) | Lead and Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI) |
| Passed in 1991 | Passed in 2021 | Proposed in 2023 |
|
Required public water systems to: Reduce levels of lead and copper in drinking water. Establish lead monitoring goals, such as a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal of zero for lead. Established a treatment technique, such as corrosion control, to prevent lead from entering water. Required public education about the risks of lead in drinking water. |
Requires public water systems to: Provide an Initial Service Line Inventory (ISLI) to the state by October 16, 2024. Make an ISLI Dashboard publicly available and searchable online. Notify all customers with service lines classified as lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown no more than 30 days after the ISLI is submitted. Notify all customers within 24 hours if 90th percentile lead level exceeds the lead action level of 15 μg/L. |
The LCRI takes effect effect in January 2028 and requires public water systems to: Regularly update its service line inventory and identify the materials of all service lines of unknown material within 10 years. Replace all lead service lines within 10 years. Complete sampling and testing for all school and childcare facilities within five years. Take specific actions when the lead action level (AL) is at least 10 μg/L. |
For years, the City's water testing has shown the water is safe and meets or surpasses all state and federal water quality standards. This includes testing for lead to ensure water is safe to drink. The City's underground water mains under do not contain lead, and the City has no known lead service lines leading from mains to meters. The City's water distribution system is in full compliance with EPA's current regulations.
Read the City's Water System and Drinking Water Quality - Consumer Confidence Report.
To get your City drinking water tested, call 336-373-7527 or email us.
Lead water pipes may still exist in the City's system, particularly on private property with older homes and businesses. Of the City's approximately 112,000 water service lines, 30,000 lines were installed in the 1980s after North Carolina banned lead in service lines.
To comply with the LCRR, the City is performing vacuum excavation on private property and has randomly selected customers within the Greensboro service area to receive the Vacuum Excavation Letter with the City's Right-of-Entry QR code (ROE). This letter asks these customers to allow the City contractor to perform a test on their private water service line. This test is the least-invasive method for identifying water service line pipe material.
The City is fully committed to complying with the EPAs regulations and intends to cover the replacement cost of all water service lines classified as lead from the water main to the customer’s building.
You can assist us by doing the following:
- If you received a letter requesting vacuum excavation, we strongly encourage you to call 336- 373-2527 or email Mario Edouard to schedule a time to sign the ROE at your home or place of work within City limits or at Water Resources at 2602 S. Elm-Eugene St.
- If you did not receive a letter but would like the City to identify your water service line material and your building was constructed before 1986, please call 336-373-2527 or email Edouard to see if your property meets additional requirements.
Once the ROE is signed, respective utility companies will mark yards with spray paint or flags to indicate the location of utilities. Shortly after that, the City's contractor arrives to start the test to confirm both the customers' and City's water pipe material.
Beginning with digging a small hole about five feet from a customer's water meter on their property and another one in the City’s right-of-way. Contractors will restore the dig site to its previous condition as much as possible (example below).
Vacuum Excavation Explained Video
Examples of Vacuum Excavation
Example of Before Vacuum Excavation
Example of After Vacuum Excavation
Who was asked to participate? The selection of water service lines for vacuum excavation or physical verification is random. In other words, all unknown service lines within the system should have an equal chance of selection for verification, and the subset of service lines that are selected are representative of all unknowns within the distribution system.
The subset of service lines selected were based on the following:
- Year of construction
- Parcel information
- Nearest water main or hydrant data
- Meter data from the customer or one nearby
- Historic replacement or other work order records
- Census data
How will I know if I’ve been selected? You will know if you receive a letter in the mail.
How do I participate? If you receive a letter in the mail, please call 336-373-2527 or email Mario Edouard to schedule a time to sign the ROE at your home or place of work within City limits, or at Water Resources at 2602 S. Elm-Eugene St.
Once the ROE is signed, respective utility companies will mark your yard with spray paint or flags to indicate the location of your utilities. Shortly after that, the City’s contractor arrives to start the test. To perform the test, they will use the least-invasive method, commonly referred to as vacuum excavation, to identify your water service line pipe material. Beginning with digging a small hole about five feet from your water meter and another one in the right-of-way. The contractor will do their best to restore the two areas to their previous condition.
Your participation is a crucial component of our Lead and Copper Compliance Program. Knowing what materials water service lines are made of helps Water Resources inventory those lines and identify potential risks of lead exposure.
To verify if and where lead service lines exist on private property, the Water Resources Department has launched a voluntary online Lead & Copper Program Survey (En español) with easy-to-follow instructions to identify your service line material. Follow the steps provided and report your findings. If you discover lead or potential lead, follow these steps. (En español).
Questions? Check out our FAQs.
Have your water tested.
In 1986, new regulations prohibited the use of any lead pipe, plumbing fitting or fixture, solder, or flux in public water systems. However, existing water service lines installed or repaired before 1986 have the potential for some or all of the service line be made of lead or galvanized pipe previously connected to lead.
If your building existed before 1986 and you have not replaced your service line, contact us at Watersupplylab@greensboro-nc.gov or 336-373-7527, to have your water tested and learn more about the lead levels in your drinking water. Alternatively, you may contact a certified laboratory to have your water tested for lead. Note, a water sample may not adequately capture or represent all sources of lead present.
Read the City's Water System and Drinking Water Quality - Consumer Confidence Report.
For information on sources of lead, including service lines and interior plumbing, visit this EPA Web page.
| January 2021 | Lead and Copper Rule Revision enacted and utility requirements established. |
| November 2021 | City received Council approval for compliance consultant support. |
| February 2022 | City staff and consultants began working on the program. |
| January 2023 | Lead & Copper Program Survey (Water Service Line Inventory) released to water customers. |
| May – August 2023 | Consultants developed predictive model for the water service line inventory. |
| September 2023 – Ongoing | City contacts customers for right-of-entry permissions to test their water service line material. |
| November 2023 – Ongoing | Contractors conduct field investigations using vacuum excavation to identify water service line material. |
| January – April 2024 | City developed Initial Service Line Inventory (ISLI). |
| April – September 2024 | City reviewed ISLI. |
| October 2024 |
City submits ISLI to the NC Department of Environmental Quality and makes ISLI Dashboard available to public. |
| November 2024 | City notifies customers with water service line composition that is either galvanized requiring replacement or unknown. |
| May 2024 – Ongoing | City develops a Service Line Replacement Plan. |
| December 2024 – January 2035 | City updates the Service Line Inventory |
The service line up to your property boundary is maintained by the City. The rest of the service line running into your home or business is private and the property owner's responsibility. See below for an example of a standard water service line.