South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-58.11 - Control of Lead and Copper › Section 61-58.11.F - Lead Service Line Replacement Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
(1) Lead Service Line Inventory.
All water systems must develop an inventory to identify the
				materials of service lines connected to the public water distribution system.
				The inventory must meet the following requirements:
(a) All water systems must develop an initial
			 inventory by January 16, 2024, and submit it to the primacy agency in
			 accordance with R.61-58.11.L(5).
(b) The inventory must include all service
			 lines connected to the public water distribution system regardless of ownership
			 status (e.g., where service line ownership is shared, the inventory would
			 include both the portion of the service line owned by the water system and the
			 customer-owned portion of the service line).
(c) A water system must use any information
			 on lead and galvanized iron or steel that it has identified pursuant to
			 R.61-58.5.V when conducting the
			 inventory of service lines in its distribution system for the initial inventory
			 under paragraph (1)(a) of this section. The water system must also review the
			 sources of information listed in paragraphs (1)(c)(i) through (iv) of this
			 section to identify service line materials for the initial inventory. The water
			 system may use other sources of information not listed in paragraphs (1)(c)(i)
			 through (iv) of this section if approved by the Department.
(i) All construction and plumbing codes,
			 permits, and existing records or other documentation which indicates the
			 service line materials used to connect structures to the distribution
			 system.
(ii) All water system
			 records, including distribution system maps and drawings, historical records on
			 each service connection, meter installation records, historical capital
			 improvement or master plans, and standard operating procedures.
(iii) All inspections and records of the
			 distribution system that indicate the material composition of the service
			 connections that connect a structure to the distribution system.
(iv) Any resource, information, or
			 identification method provided or required by the Department to assess service
			 line materials.
(d) Each
			 service line, or portion of the service line where ownership is split, must be
			 categorized in the following manner:
(i)
			 "Lead'' where the service line is made of lead.
(ii) "Galvanized Requiring Replacement''
			 where a galvanized service line is or was at any time downstream of a lead
			 service line or is currently downstream of a "Lead Status Unknown'' service
			 line. If the water system is unable to demonstrate that the galvanized service
			 line was never downstream of a lead service line, it must presume there was an
			 upstream lead service line.
(iii)
			 "Non-lead'' where the service line is determined through an evidence-based
			 record, method, or technique not to be lead or galvanized requiring
			 replacement. The water system may classify the actual material of the service
			 line (i.e., plastic or copper) as an alternative to classifying it as
			 "Non-lead.''
(iv) "Lead Status
			 Unknown'' where the service line material is not known to be lead, galvanized
			 requiring replacement, or a non-lead service line, such as where there is no
			 documented evidence supporting material classification. The water system may
			 classify the line as "Unknown'' as an alternative to classifying it as "Lead
			 Status Unknown,'' however, all requirements that apply to "Lead Status
			 Unknown'' service lines must also apply to those classified as "Unknown.''
			 Water systems may elect to provide more information regarding their unknown
			 lines as long as the inventory clearly distinguishes unknown service lines from
			 those where the material has been verified through records or
			 inspection.
(e) Water
			 systems shall identify and track service line materials in the inventory as
			 they are encountered in the course of its normal operations (e.g., checking
			 service line materials when reading water meters or performing maintenance
			 activities).
(f) Water systems must
			 update the inventory based on all applicable sources described in paragraphs
			 (1)(c) and (e) of this section and any lead service line replacements or
			 service line material inspections that may have been conducted. The water
			 system may use other sources of information if approved by the Department and
			 must use other sources of information provided or required by the Department.
			 Water systems must submit the updated inventory to the Department in accordance
			 with R.61-58.11.L(5). The inventory updates must be reflected in the publicly
			 accessible inventory no less frequently than when required to be submitted to
			 the Department.
(i) Water systems whose
			 inventories contain only non-lead service lines are not required to provide
			 inventory updates to the Department or to the public. If, in the future, such a
			 water system finds a lead service line within its system, it must prepare an
			 updated inventory in accordance with paragraph (1) of this section on a
			 schedule established by the Department.
(ii) [Reserved]
(g) To calculate the number of service line
			 replacements applicable to paragraphs (6) and (7) of this section, the
			 replacement rate must be applied to the sum of known lead and galvanized
			 requiring replacement service lines when the system first exceeds the trigger
			 or action level plus the number of lead status unknown service lines in the
			 beginning of each year of a system's annual goal or mandatory lead service line
			 replacement program.
(i) Each service line
			 shall count only once for purposes of calculating the required number of
			 service line replacements, even where the ownership of the service line is
			 split and both the customer-owned and system-owned portions require
			 replacement.
(ii) The number of
			 service lines requiring replacement must be updated annually to subtract the
			 number of lead status unknown service lines that were discovered to be non-lead
			 and to add the number of non-lead service lines that were discovered to be a
			 lead or galvanized requiring replacement service line.
(iii) Verification of a lead status unknown
			 service line as non-lead in the inventory does not count as a service line
			 replacement.
(h) The
			 service line materials inventory must be publicly accessible.
(i) The inventory must include a location
			 identifier, such as a street address, block, intersection, or landmark,
			 associated with each lead service line and galvanized requiring replacement
			 service line. Water systems may, but are not required to, include a locational
			 identifier for lead status unknown service lines or list the exact address of
			 each service line.
(ii) Water
			 systems serving greater than 50,000 persons must make the publicly accessible
			 inventory available online.
(i) When a water system has no lead,
			 galvanized requiring replacement, or lead status unknown service lines
			 (regardless of ownership) in its inventory, it may comply with the requirements
			 in paragraph (1)(h) of this section using a written statement, in lieu of the
			 inventory, declaring that the distribution system has no lead service lines or
			 galvanized requiring replacement service lines. The statement must include a
			 general description of all applicable sources described in paragraphs (1)(c),
			 (e), and (f) of this section used to make this determination.
(j) Instructions to access the service line
			 inventory (including inventories consisting only of a statement in accordance
			 with paragraph (1)(i) of this section) must be included in Consumer Confidence
			 Report in accordance with R.61-58.12.C(4)(d)(xi).