Baltimore City and County recently announced a joint effort to help the EPA complete a national lead and copper pipe inventory.
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) and the Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) have formed the Baltimore Service Line Partnership, a collaboration to address new federal regulations aimed at protecting communities from lead exposure in drinking water. The Partnership is managing a comprehensive program to identify lead service lines in the Baltimore water system.
The Baltimore Service Line Partnership was formed to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) that were announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2021. These rules require utilities across the country to inventory service line materials and address any locations with high lead levels.
Completing the inventory is a foundational step toward continued LCRR compliance. This data will be critical in supporting the efficient and equitable replacement of service lines made of outdated materials such as lead. The deadline for the Baltimore Service Line Partnership to submit the initial inventory to the EPA is October 2024. The inventory results will be shared with the public on our website as required by the LCRR.
The City of Baltimore provides drinking water that continuously meets state and federal standards for lead and copper. In 1972, the State of Maryland banned the installation of lead water services lines. However, in some cases, water lines made of unknown or out-of-date materials, including lead, may still be present in the water distribution system. To date, information on water service lines located on private property has been limited because these lines were not installed by DPW (City) or DPWT (County).
According to the press release:
“Ensuring our residents have access to safe, clean and high-quality drinking water is a top priority for us in Baltimore County, and taking extra safety measures to demonstrate that all of our service lines are lead and pollutant free makes sense,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “I am confident that the Baltimore Service Line Partnership team will conduct a comprehensive examination to ensure we remain in compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and continue allowing our communities to enjoy the high-quality drinking water they expect and deserve.”
“Delivering high-quality drinking water to the Baltimore region is a top priority for the City of Baltimore, and taking these steps to identify whether there are any potentially outdated service line materials in the water distribution system is key to safeguarding our water supply,” said Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “I am urging residents and business entities identified as having unknown water service line material to check their service lines by following the easy-to-use test, and then report their results to the Baltimore Service Line Partnership via the online self-reporting survey. We already take significant measures to ensure that our system as a whole is protected, including from any potential lead contamination. Joining the rest of the country in identifying and replacing any remaining outdated service line materials is just one more step that we can take to ensure our entire system is as risk-free as possible.”
