English HOME ABOUT US YORK WATER SYSTEM FORMS & RESOURCES INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT US Lead Information Lead History Lead has been used extensively since before the 1900’s throughout our society. For those that remember the 1960’s and 70s, we had leaded gasoline, leaded paint, leaded solder, and some regions were still using lead pipes. It was then realized that when we ingest lead it has adverse impacts on human health. Click here to read our informational brochure on lead. Lead in Water? There is no measurable lead in the water that York Water supplies into our water system. Any lead that a customer may receive in their water is due to plumbing materials at the customer’s premise; and/or lead service lines owned by York Water and/or the customer. The service line is usually in 2 parts: One part is owned by York Water, which is the part from the water main to the curb line. The second part is owned by the property owner and runs from the curb line into the house. Plumbing within the house, which is also owned by the property owner, is typically copper, plastic, brass, or steel. Some household plumbing also contains lead based solder used to join copper pipes. York Water Efforts to Reduce Lead The York Water Company has over 72,000 customer connections, some of them dating back to the early 1900’s. Using lead in plumbing was common throughout the 1900’s. York Water stopped installing lead service lines around 1934. As of 2021, York Water has replaced all known company-owned lead service lines, and we continue to replace them as our crews and certified contractors locate them. Since 2017, York Water has replaced over 1,900 company-owned lead service lines and replaced these lines with copper lines. Since 1992, York Water has been providing corrosion control treatment into our water supply. This adjusts the pH of the water and helps reduce the amount of lead that may leach out of the on-premise piping. Triennial testing has been conducted to determine lead levels in the drinking water at your tap. Click here to view the most recent Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. We need your help to identify your customer-owned service line material! Our goal is to remove all lead service lines in our community. Since 2017, we have replaced over 670 customer-owned lead service lines at no cost to the customer. If your service line is lead, we will schedule an appointment to come out and replace it. To find out if you have a lead service line in your home, follow the instructions in the image below. Once you have determined the material your customer-owned service line is made of, please fill out this form to notify us of the material. If you have identified your service line as lead, a York Water employee will reach out to you to schedule a visit to your home to verify. Where is the lead? In addition to company owned lead service lines, there are generally 4 areas that lead could be located on the customer’s premise: The customer-owned service line entering the house, leaded solder in the house, or brass fixtures containing lead. Another potential source of lead in homes is lead paint which was banned in 1978. In 1990 the EPA passed the Lead & Copper Rule to help reduce the amount of lead that may be present in the piping at a customer’s premise. Also in 1990, the EPA required lead testing in a sampling of houses by the public water supplier. How can I reduce the lead in my drinking water? If a water test indicates that the drinking water drawn from a tap contains lead above 15 ppb, or if you would like to reduce potential lead at your tap, then you should take the following precautions: Run your water to flush out lead. Run water for 15-30 seconds to flush lead from interior plumbing. If you have a lead service line, running the water for at least 3 minutes (about 3 gallons) if the water lines have not been used for more than 6 hours. Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead. Look for alternative drinking water sources or treatment of water. The NSF Consumer Affairs Office has specific information about lead treatment at: NSF.org Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead. Have an electrician check to see if wires are improperly grounded to your pipe. Your family doctor or pediatrician can test your child’s blood level for lead and provide information on the health effects of lead. How can I determine if my part of the service line is lead? Here’s an informative page to determine if the pipe entering your house is lead. Click here to visit the EPA’s web site on lead in water Previous Lead Documentation York Water goal to replace all lead service lines (Company and Customer owned) | Updated 3/7/17 How do I check to see if I have a customer-owned lead service line? | Updated 4/19/17 Lead News Release | Updated 11/28/16 Lead Frequently Asked Questions | Updated 03/02/17 Lead in Your Drinking Water pamphlet | Updated 11/28/16 Plomo en el agua potable | Updated 11/28/16 Te queremos a ti para saber si tienes una línea de servicio de plomo | Updated 4/19/17 PUC Approves York Water Request | Updated 03/01/17 Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat to view these documents. Get it here YORK WATER SYSTEM Lead Information Lake Williams Dam Project York Water System Status Distribution And Supply System Water Quality Report Comprehensive Water Quality Analysis Fluoride Policy How Do We Treat Our Water? 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