Water Service Line Verification Project
INVENTORY OF WATER SERVICE LINES
A water service line (also known as a lateral) is the small pipe that carries water into your home or business from JEA’s water main located in the municipal right-of-way and easements.
Service lines can be made of plastic, brass, copper, cast iron, flexible iron, lead, or galvanized steel (which could contain lead). Homes built before June 1988 may have lead pipes that connect your property to the water mains. Homes built after that time should not have a lead service line.
JEA has created a program to both educate our customers and to assist with identifying and reporting lead and copper pipes throughout our service territory. This program corresponds with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR).
The property owner does — from the JEA meter box, which is usually located at the property line, to the plumbing inside the structure.
A water service line generally enters your home or business through an exterior wall, the concrete foundation, or crawl space. Typically, prior to entering a structure, a shut-off valve is installed and found near a hose bibb on the front or side of the structure. The valves may be above ground level for ease of access and use, and/or just below ground level.
SERVICE LINE MATERIALS VERIFICATION
The 2021 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) require that water utilities prepare an inventory of all water service line materials, for both customer- and utility-owned service lines.
JEA is proactively completing the service line materials inventory to better protect customers by expediting the removal of lead service lines from the drinking water system. JEA is employing a range of methods to check service line materials, including historical records review, vacuum excavation, statistical analysis, and customer self-reporting.
If you are chosen as part of our random audit, a JEA contractor will visit your property and dig one or two small holes. These holes will be used to check the pipe and determine if your service line is lead or galvanized steel. The process takes about two hours to dig a small hole, check the pipe material and restore the area to its original appearance. Typically, fences, retaining walls, sidewalks, porches and hedges will not be disturbed in the process and we will not impact your water line. No water outages are expected.
Afterward, we’ll leave information about your service line at your door. You don’t need to be home during the inspection work.
JEA's contractors will dig the holes in the location of the curb stop valve. The valve is generally located at the water meter. If we need to enter your private property, we will attempt to contact you by knocking on your door or by calling you.
JEA is also requesting that property owners conduct inspections of their own private water service lines for the presence of lead. You can check your own service line using these simple steps:
- Step 1: Gather a strong magnet and a key or coin.
- Step 2: Find where your service line enters your building — This is likely to be outside of your home near a shut-off valve. In some cases, it may be in a basement, crawl space or utility closet.
- Step 3: Test the material of the pipe by scratching it with the key or coin to reveal its color; hold the magnet to the pipe to see if it sticks and take several well-lit photos to capture the results of the test.
- Step 4: Compare your results to one of these options:
- If the material is red, blue, black or white, the pipe is plastic.
- If the material is the color of a penny (dull brown or greenish) and a magnet does not stick, the pipe is copper.
- If the material is dark yellow or golden, the pipe is brass.
- If the material is dull gray and a magnet sticks to it, the pipe is galvanized steel.
- If the material is gray, shines brightly, is easily scraped and a magnet does NOT stick to it, the pipe is lead.
- Step 5: Report your findings. Upload your photos and your Material Self-Report form to our Customer Portal (link to be added once the portal is active). Your participation is crucial in our ongoing efforts to provide safe, clean drinking water to our community.
Here is a link to the EPA’s online guide to assist you with identifying lead pipes. https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead-0
If your service line is plastic, copper or brass, these materials are generally accepted as safe plumbing for water lines although there’s still a chance that lead fittings or solder could have been used somewhere in your plumbing system. If you are concerned, please contact JEA’s Water Quality line at (904) 665-4521 or WaterQuality@jea.com to schedule to have your water tested.
If your service line is lead or galvanized steel, consider replacing your service line. The cost of replacing the customer-side of the service line is currently the responsibility of the property owner.
Yes. If you are not part of our initial random field audit and are unable to test your own service line, JEA can assist with identifying your private service line. Please contact us to schedule an appointment at (904) 665-4521 or WaterQuality@jea.comm. This will be completed at no cost to you.
You can report the results of your service line materials to JEA using our online Material Self-Report form found at our Customer Portal (link to be added once the portal is active). JEA will use this information to complete the service line inventory for our water service territory.
If you think your service line is made of lead or contains a lead solder (a metal alloy made of lead and tin to join pipes together), take the following steps to lessen your chances of lead exposure:
- Run your tap water for at least five minutes before drinking or cooking to flush out stagnant water and receive fresh water from the water main.
- Use fresh, cold, running water for drinking, cooking or preparing baby formula.
- Remove and clean faucet screens and aerators every six months.
- Buy plumbing fixtures (faucets, valves, sinks, hose bibs, etc.) with zero- or low-lead content that meets the current “lead-free’ requirements.
- Use a National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)-certified home water treatment device, faucet or pitcher filter that removes lead. The device must be both NSF 42- and NSF-53-certified to remove lead.
- Property owners have the option to hire a licensed plumber to replace their lead private water service line. The cost of replacing the customer-side of the service line is currently the responsibility of the property owner. Certain municipalities also allow for the replacement of your own plumbing IF you are the property owner. Please check with your corresponding permitting agency for your own city or county.
- If you decide to go ahead with the replacement, please contact our Water Quality team at (904) 665-4521 or WaterQuality@jea.com to schedule an onsite review and assistance with any part of the service line that might be JEA’s responsibility.
- JEA does not currently offer reimbursement for private water service line replacements. However, we're monitoring federal legislation that may provide financial assistance in the future. We will inform our customers if such options become available.
You can learn more about this pending legislation referred to as the Lead Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI). The EPA is currently inviting members of the public to review the proposal, which can be found online.
Additional guidance and Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) from EPA are coming out later in 2024. JEA will know more when this has been released. This may include changes to the lead service line replacement plans.
You may contact JEA’s Water Quality team at (904) 665-4521 or WaterQuality@jea.com and request that your water be tested.
Contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline immediately at 1-800-424-5323 or visit the EPA website to complete an online form located at https://www.epa.gov/lead/forms/national-lead-information-center-document-request-form
The EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline is also available to answer your questions and concerns at 1-800-424-5323 or visit the EPA website to complete an online question form.
Federal and/or state affordable housing funds may be available through the City of Jacksonville’s Housing and Community Development Division’s Utility Tap-In Program (UTIP) https://www.coj.net/departments/neighborhoods/housing-and-community-development/housing-services/programs/homeowners/utility-tap-in-program.
This financial assistance is for qualified owner-occupied homeowners in the form of a deferred payment loan, which pays for all costs associated with repairing or replacing plumbing, septic tanks, and wells. This program is available to Duval County residents only and is subject to funding availability.
If would like more information on the program qualification requirements, please contact the Housing and Community Development Division at (904) 255-8229.
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