Ensuring safe drinking water remains a top priority for communities across the country. Aging infrastructure, particularly Lead Service Lines (LSLs), poses significant risks to public health, prompting federal and state agencies to take action. Removing LSLs is about more than just meeting regulations — it is about protecting the well-being of residents and building trust with communities. As deadlines for the removal of lead in water systems approach, municipalities are working hard to identify, document, and replace outdated service lines. However, this process requires careful planning, funding, and collaboration between local governments, residents, and agencies.
What’s BEEN HAPPENING?
In 2021, work began to establish new guidelines and requirements aimed at eliminating all LSLs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partnered with state agencies to set timelines, requirements, and provide funding opportunities to support the LSL removal. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $15 billion in funding through EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) in the form of grants and loans to support the removal efforts.
Currently, an estimated 9.2 million service lines exist across the U.S., but the real number is unknown and may vary greatly. LSLs are common in public water systems, typically running from water mains in the public right of way to private property. They also are found in the private service line leading to buildings or in the building plumbing. Without installation records, municipalities must verify all unknown services through methods like in-home inspections, televising, or potholing—an effort that requires considerable time, cost, coordination, and resources.
On August 4th, 2022, the EPA released guidelines on how to develop accurate inventories of service lines. By October 16, 2024, all communities were required to submit a detailed inventory spreadsheet identifying both public and customer service line materials to comply with the program.
WHAT’s NEXT?
In 2025, communities began to receive emails from Department of Natural Resources (DNR) representatives. These emails included warning letters, checklists, and completeness reviews.
Warning letter – A community received federal violations for failing to complete their inventory spreadsheet, meaning some fields that required data were incomplete.
Noncompliance letter – The inventory data submitted didn’t match the lead services reported in the annual Public Service Commission (PSC) report, as an example.
Approval letter – Indicates that the inventory met all requirements and must be maintained annually.
When a community receives a letter, they should work directly with their DNR representative to update missing data, clarify information, notify the public if required, and return a complete spreadsheet promptly to avoid further issues.
This new program has experienced some growing pains as communities adjust and work through issues to achieve compliance. There remains some uncertainty with the regulatory climate, however, the program requirements are clear and have not changed.
NEXT STEPS
Ruekert & Mielke continues to closely monitor changes to help communities respond and be prepared to meet the goal of maintaining accurate inventories and complying with all program requirements. We have successfully assisted many municipalities with GIS updates, inventory management, grant and loan administration for the SDWFL program, and project design and oversight. If your community needs assistance with LSLs, contact us today!
About the Author
JASON P. LIETHA, P.E.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Jason has been involved in project management, site development, and municipal engineering since 1998 in Wisconsin. As Vice President, he brings expertise in site and roadway design, stormwater management, erosion control, sewer and water infrastructure, bike and pedestrian trails, master planning, dam reconstruction, residential subdivision review, and grant administration.