Raleigh Water District (RWD) recently completed an assessment identifying any lead-based service line materials within our public infrastructure. Service lines are the smaller pipes that connect water distribution mains to individual home’s water meters and then to a home or business’s plumbing. 

Our Service Line Inventory project is required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and aligns with RWD's ongoing commitment to upholding the highest standards of water quality and safety for our customers. Fortunately for RWD and the much of the Pacific Northwest, lead was rarely—if ever—used for service lines. 

During this project, no lead service lines were discovered on either the public or private side of the water system.

These service lines have two components: 

1. Public side of Service Line: The portion that connects the water main to a water meter, which is owned and the responsibility of RWD.
2. Private side of Service Line: The portion that connects the water meter to a home or business, which is owned and the responsibility of the property owner.

RWD used a statistical method approved by OHA to randomly select more than 162 residential homes from across our service area. 

Selecting sites randomly eliminates bias in the process, thereby allowing the results to be applied to the rest of RWD’s service lines with high confidence. This approach saves significant resources for RWD and its customers when the chances of finding a lead service line on either the public or private side are near zero.

Lines were exposed to view a portion of the public and private side service lines to visually identify the material type. Complete results were submitted to OHA in October 2024. 

RWD will continue doing everything possible to reduce lead exposure in customer home plumbing, including:

• Conducting lead-in-water related outreach and education to customers.
• Tracking, monitoring, and adhering to future water quality rules.
• Actively participating in an annual lead testing program under the U.S. EPA and OHA lead rules. 

You can call our office at 503-292-4894 for more information about the Service Line Inventory Project or visit RWD+CCR+2024.pdf for more information about lead and your drinking water. 

At RWD, safeguarding the health and well-being of our customers remains our top priority. Through initiatives like this, we strive to ensure that every customer has access to clean, safe, and reliable drinking water now and in the future.