The Lead Service Line (LSL) inventory procedure is part of Glendale Water & Power’s (GWP’s) overall Asset Management Program and is a necessary component in maintaining compliance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) in an effort to minimize the presence of lead and copper in drinking water.

GWP water staff will be conducting LSL inventories throughout different parts of Glendale starting April 2024 in order to meet the initial requirements of the recently adopted LCR revisions. In the course of these inspections, GWP staff will be required to open water meter boxes on the parkway of residential and commercial properties and take pictures and inventory of the customer-side service lines connected to the water meter. If it is not possible to determine the material of the pipeline within the meter box, staff may approach the building to inspect the pipe at the point of entry. GWP staff will not attempt to enter or approach any other portion of the customer’s property.  The inventory is for recording purposes only to be submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water (DDW). 

Several revisions were made to the original rule in 2000, 2004, and 2007 entitled “Short-Term Revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule”. Senate Bill 1398 (2016) and Senate Bill 427 (2017) required all Community Water Systems (CWS) to compile an inventory of service lines and identify material by July 1, 2018. Any unknowns in the initial inventory were required to be identified or scheduled for replacement by July 1, 2020. In January 2021, the USEPA issued long term revisions to the federal lead and copper rule (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, LCRR) with the intent of providing better protection for children in schools and childcare facilities as well as the residents in communities throughout the country. These revisions followed the events in Flint, Michigan, and added a greater emphasis on the removal and replacement of LSLs.

As part of the revisions, the creation of an LSL inventory by community water systems (CWS) was required that included not just the utility-owned portion of the service line, but also the customer-owned portion. This initial inventory is required to be submitted by October 16, 2024. Further revisions are expected via the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) in October 2024. Click here for more information.

GWP Responsibilities:

GWP currently has 33,860 services in its system and has confirmed there were no lead services on the utility side of the system in the aforementioned 2020 report. After reviewing available records, GWP was able to determine the number of post-1985 (when the lead ban in California became effective) customer side services, which reduced the total number of unknown customer side plumbing services to 31,127.

As a larger water system, GWP has opted to physically inspect 1,299 of the total number of material-unknown service lines. This number is enough to provide a statistically representative 95% confidence level and is an accepted approach to extrapolating the material make-up of the total number of service lines. The services to be inspected were randomly selected based on the year they were built, with a larger percentage representing properties built during World War II. 

Questions?

For any questions related to the LSL inventory please email GWPWaterQuality@GlendaleCA.gov or contact Micheal Earl, Water Quality Specialist at 818-548-2011. Once the inventory is submitted to the USEPA the results will be posted on this site.