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Galvanized Water Service
Lines Requiring Replacement
Community Outreach
September 2023
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
AGENDA
What is a service line?
East Bay History
New EPA Requirements
Who’s affected?
Galvanized Service Lines
How does lead testing
work?
Next Steps
2 © 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
What is a Service Line?
3 The small pipe that
carries water from the
large pipe under the
street into a home,
business, or facility.
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
Who Owns the Service Line?
• The pipe on the street
side of the meter
belongs to EBMUD
• The pipe that goes to
the home belongs to
the property owner.
4 © 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT 5
History
During WWII, thousands of
homes were built for defense
workers moving to the East Bay
to support the shipyards
Between 1942 and 1945
EBMUD installed lead service
lines when copper and steel
were unavailable
All of these lead service lines
have been removed
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
Former Lead Service Line Locations
Highest concentrations in
Oakland, Richmond, San
Leandro, San Lorenzo, and
San Pablo.
6 © 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
Former Lead Service Line Locations
• Many services were
branched (i.e., one line
serves two or more
meters)
• Nearly 10,000 customer-
side services were
formerly connected to
lead service lines
7 City Number of District-side
Service Lines (Former LSLs)
Number of Customer-
side Service Lines
Oakland 1765 2617
Richmond 1844 2417
San Leandro 846 1350
San Lorenzo 567 1031
San Pablo 852 1017
Berkeley 383 483
El Cerrito 163 211
Alameda 121 169
Hayward 91 128
Castro Valley 94 114
Albany 80 100
Rodeo 55 86
Lafayette 29 29
Emeryville 22 24
Walnut Creek 16 16
El Sobrante 13 14
Piedmont 11 11
Orinda 5 5
Pleasant Hill 3 4
Kensington 3 3
Total 6963 9829
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
• Lead Service Line removal
started as soon as copper
and steel became available
again in 1945
• More than half were removed
by 1970, 97% were removed
by 2000
8 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Active EBMUD lead service laterals
Year
LSLs In Service
When were the Lead Lines Removed?
• Recent intensive record
searches and field
verifications indicate none
left
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
New Federal Regulations
• Water systems must create a
service line inventory, deadline is
October 2024
• Customer-side inventory in addition
to District-side
• New category of pipe: Galvanized
Requiring Replacement (GRR)
– Galvanized line that is or was
downstream of a lead service line
9 EPA infographic for new sampling protocols
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
How Does this Impact EBMUD?
• Despite having removed all
known lead service lines,
EBMUD has requirements under
the new rules
• “GRRs” must be identified, and
customers served by these lines
must be notified
• Mandatory language about the
health risks of lead must be
included in the notification letter
10 © 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
What is a Galvanized Service Line?
11 • Galvanized pipes are iron or steel that have
a protective zinc coating
• Once the zinc is gone, the iron will corrode
• Not commonly used today, they were
common before the 1960s
• In some circumstances, lead-bearing scale
can form inside galvanized pipes connected
to lead pipes; the lead from this scale can
be release into the water even after the lead
pipe is removed
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT 12
• Field confirmation of materials
• Contractor to visit all 10,000
homes and businesses
• Visual inspection at meter box
and riser
• 95% of inspections do not
involve interaction with
customer
• Informational pamphlet,
translations, and FAQs
• Project duration expected to be
1 – 2 years
Inspections of Former Lead Locations
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
Customers Served by GRRs must be notified
• Initial notification within 30 days of completion of
inventory, November 2024
• We estimate about ½ are galvanized
• Notifications will be sent to about 5,000 customers
• Annual notification to customer until GRR is
replaced
• Event-based notification when line is disturbed
(e.g., meter replacement, main shutoff, etc.)
• GRR laterals are homeowner’s responsibility
• EBMUD data indicates that lead levels are very
low/as low as other laterals
13 Exposure to lead in drinking water can
cause serious health effects in all age
groups. Infants and children can have
decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead
exposure can lead to new learning and
behavior problems or exacerbate existing
learning and behavior problems. The
children of women who are exposed to
lead before or during pregnancy can
have increased risk of these adverse
health effects. Adults can have increased
risks of heart disease, high blood
pressure, kidney, or nervous system
problems.
EPA mandatory language about lead
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
• EBMUD has tested
hundreds of customer taps
samples
• High-risk homes
• Cross section of random
customers
• Focused study of
existing galvanized lines
with lead connectors
• Results are good, no
problems indicated
• Occasional high results
linked to faucets and debris
in aerators
14 What is the Concern? Is this Dangerous?
EPA Action Level = 15 ppb
EPA Trigger Level = 10 ppb
Detection Limit for Reporting = 5 ppb
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
Actions Customers Can Take
15 • Call EBMUD for a free lead test
• Clean or replace aerators (screens) on faucets
• Flush stagnant lines before drinking
• Wash dishes, do laundry, water plants or use water in other ways
• Store a pitcher of water in refrigerator for drinking • Consider a filter for drinking water
• Lead is not a problem for bathing, washing, and or
other uses
• Boiling does not remove lead
• Replace old faucets
• Replace old galvanized iron pipes
Amazon aerator replacement kit
© 2023 EAST BAY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT 16
Summary
• Outreach related to
customer-side galvanized
pipes
• Mandatory language with
health impacts of lead can
be alarming
• Partner with cities, counties,
local groups to help
customers understand risk
© 2022 EAST BAY MUD MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT. CONFIDENTIAL. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE.
QUESTIONS?