Aqua to replace customer-owned lead service lines in the Valley at no direct cost

Aqua is beginning a multi-year Lead Service Line Replacement Program to eliminate lead service lines across all of its service areas.

This year, the company is beginning a $4.8 million project x to replace 542 lead and some galvanized service lines in the City of Struthers. Rudzik Excavating has been contracted to complete the replacements which will occur over the next 13 months. Owners of properties included in this initial round of replacements were mailed a letter detailing the process.

“Research has linked lead with serious health complications, especially in young children,” said Jennifer Johnson, area manager of Aqua’s Struthers Division. “Replacement is important but can be expensive. Aqua is not only replacing the company-owned portion of the pipe but offering a program to replace the customer owned part of the pipe at no charge.”

Service lines are the pipes that connect a building’s plumbing to the water mains in the street. Aqua owns the portion of these pipes between the main and the curb stop and the remainder of the pipe is the responsibility of the property owner.

Aqua’s Lead Service Line Replacement Program includes the replacement of both qualified sections of the line at no direct cost to the customer. Once the contractor confirms the material of both sides of the service line, the property owner will be required to sign a License Agreement if their side is determined to need replacement.

In Ohio, lead service lines have been prohibited for use in plumbing since 1988. Homes built earlier could still have lead service lines.

Aqua is actively working to complete an inventory of all service line materials in their systems. As more lead service lines are identified, those property owners will receive notification when their service line is scheduled for replacement. None of Aqua’s water mains are made of lead.

This project is partially funded by the Ohio EPA Water Supply Revolving Loan Account.

Customers with questions about the program can visit www.aquawater.com/lead.