Service Line Inventory

The federal Lead and Copper Rule requires every public water system to identify the material of the water service line at each connection it serves and to make that inventory available to the public. This page explains what the service line inventory is and how to find the material recorded for your address.

What is a service line?

Your service line is the underground pipe that connects the water main in the street to the plumbing in your home or building. Its material matters because older lead or galvanized pipe can contribute lead to drinking water. Newer lines are typically copper or plastic, which do not.

Service line material categories

Each service line in the inventory is classified using the EPA’s standard categories:

• Lead — the service line is made of lead.
• Galvanized requiring replacement — galvanized iron or steel pipe that is, or ever was, downstream of a lead service line.
• Non-lead — copper, plastic (such as PEX or PVC), or other non-lead material.
• Lead status unknown — the material has not yet been verified and is still being determined.

Find the material for your address

Suburban Water maintains a service line inventory for the connections in our system. To find the material recorded for your address, contact our office and we will look it up for you. The complete inventory is also available for public review at our office during regular business hours.

How to check your own service line

You can often identify your service line material yourself. Find where the pipe enters your home — usually near the water meter, or in a basement or crawlspace — and check the section of pipe just before the meter:

• Scratch test: gently scratch the pipe with a coin or key. Lead is soft and dull gray and turns shiny silver where scratched. Copper looks like a penny. Galvanized steel stays dull gray and is not scratched easily.
• Magnet test: a magnet will stick to galvanized steel, but not to lead or copper.
• Plastic lines are usually white, blue, or black and are not metal.

If you believe you have a lead or galvanized service line, please contact us so we can update the inventory and discuss next steps.

Protecting your household from lead

There is no safe level of lead in drinking water, and infants, young children, and pregnant women are most at risk. Most lead in drinking water comes from service lines and household plumbing rather than the water itself. You can reduce your exposure:

• Run the tap for several minutes to flush the pipes when water has been sitting for hours (for example, first thing in the morning).
• Use cold water for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula — hot water dissolves more lead.
• Consider a filter certified to an ANSI/NSF standard for lead reduction, and maintain it as directed.
• If you would like your water tested, contact our office.

What Suburban Water is doing

We are committed to providing high-quality drinking water. We maintain and update our service line inventory as materials are verified, and we work to remove lead service lines where they are found on the public side of the system. Learn more about the safety of your water in our annual water quality reports.

Contact us

Questions about the service line inventory or lead in drinking water? Contact us:

You may also find more information about lead in drinking water from the U.S. EPA at epa.gov/lead.