Important Notice from Public Utilities
On November 15, notices were mailed to about 50,000 Toledo water customers to comply with new EPA guidelines. The new annual notice is required to be mailed to water customers who have:
- Confirmed lead on the city OR customer side of the service line
- Confirmed galvanized on the city OR customer side of the service line
- Unknown material on the city OR customer side of the service line
Lead Line Notification
Water is treated to coat the lead pipes so that lead does not leech into the drinking water. Testing is performed throughout the year to ensure this treatment process is working and confirm that our water is safe to drink, even for those who have lead lines.
As a part of the Toledo Recovery Plan, all customer-owned lead lines are scheduled to be replaced by 2026. If lead is also found on the city-side, those will be replaced at the same time.
All customer side lines were inspected during the AMI meter replacements, so all but about 6,000 customer lines have been inspected. Of those 100,000 lines, only about 100 known customer-owned lead lines remain.
On the city side, lead service lines remain more prevalent. The City of Toledo has been proactively replacing lead service lines on the public side, mostly in conjunction with roadway projects.
Customers who received a notice of lead service line can visit the website, search their address on the map, and check to see whether the city or customer side is lead.
Galvanized Line Notification
This notification was sent to customers who have a galvanized service line that is or was at any time downstream from a lead or lead status unknown service line.
Water is treated to coat the lead pipes so that lead does not leech into the drinking water. Testing is performed throughout the year to ensure this treatment process is working and confirm that our water is safe to drink, even for those who have lead lines.
The City of Toledo doesn’t currently have a galvanized line replacement program. Customers who received a notice of galvanized service line can visit the website, search their address on the map, and check to see whether the city or customer side is galvanized.
Customer side galvanized lines can be replaced by the homeowner. City side galvanized lines will be replaced in conjunction with roadway projects.
Unknown Line Material Notification
Water is treated to coat lead pipes so that lead does not leech into the drinking water if it is present. Testing is performed throughout the year to ensure this treatment process is working and confirm that our water is safe to drink, even for those who have lead lines.
All customer side lines were inspected during the AMI meter replacements, so all but about 6,000 customer lines have been inspected. It is likely that the unknown material is on the city side.
Customers who received a notice of unknown service line material can visit the website, search their address on the map, and see which materials are unknown – city or customer side.
If the customer side is unknown, an at home test can be performed in about 5 minutes using a magnet and a penny. These results can be submitted to the City of Toledo for record keeping.
If the city side is unknown, the city will need to dig at the curb box in order to perform an evaluation. Currently, we are evaluating city side materials in conjunction with other water or road work. In 2019, the city worked with a consultant to utilize a predictive algorithm to determine where lead lines are most likely to be located. We are using that data to determine how to prioritize city side testing and replacement.