Get the lead out: National push to identify service lines, protect drinking water
The water service lines across all of the United States of America are being investigated and documented in order to make sure they are not adding lead to anyone’s drinking water.
It’s important to know that excess lead is NOT in the TriRiver Water drinking water. TriRiver Water has met EPA lead regulations since lead testing began in 1992. In that time, TriRiver Water has never detected elevated lead levels in its tap water samples. We have also posted annual water quality reports online for Sanford, Pittsboro, Chatham County and Siler City that include sample results on regulated substances such as lead.
While lead is not in the water when it leaves our water filtration facilities and TriRiver Water utilizes effective corrosion control techniques, federal regulators still warn that homes or businesses built before March 1987 could have lead in their plumbing. TriRiver Water's corrosion control helps ensure that any existing lead plumbing does not result in lead contaminating the drinking water.
SEE ALSO: What is lead & why are we working to keep it out of drinking water?
Still, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently revised its Lead and Copper Rule, mandating an investigation into and potential replacement of service lines across the country.
Water service lines are the lines connecting the water main to your home. TriRiver Water began investigating the lines in 2024, will have them all identified by Nov. 1, 2027, and must replace any determined to contain lead by the end of 2037. All service lines have two components: a utility side and a customer side. Both sides must be identified, as they could have been installed with different materials at different times.
What is TriRiver Water doing?
Immediately upon learning of the EPA’s updated Lead and Copper Rule, TriRiver Water started following the parameters of the program laid out for all water utilities across the country. In this section, you’ll find details about what TriRiver Water has done so far to ensure that all of its water distribution system meets the program guidelines and parameters.
Since Chatham County and Siler City merged with TriRiver Water after the update to the Lead and Copper Rule, the initial work on their systems were completed by other groups. TriRiver Water is now in charge of those projects and working to bring them into compliance with the rule change.
The first step in meeting the new Lead and Copper Rule guidelines was to conduct what’s called a desktop study of service line records in Sanford and Pittsboro.
Sanford
The desktop study in Sanford focused on using historical data, current records and customer feedback to identify the material composition of service lines.
The desktop study set out to identify all service lines as either lead, galvanized needing replacement, non-lead, or unknown. The study found no lead lines, no galvanized needing replacement lines, and 20,628 lines that could be identified as non-lead--leaving 2,039 lines unidentified.
Following guidelines laid out in the new Lead and Copper Rule and approved by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), TriRiver Water dug up and identified 335 of the remaining 2,039 unknown service lines in September 2025. All 335 were confirmed to be non-lead.
NCDEQ officials inspected and approved the work and in December 2025 determined that the combination of historical evidence and absence of any lead lines being found in the 335 physical identifications meant that Sanford had met the standard of the new Lead and Copper Rule more than a year ahead of schedule. NCDEQ now classifies Sanford as meeting the EPA standard of being 95% confident that fewer than 1% of service lines in the area contain lead.
The final inventory phase of the project requires TriRiver Water to validate approximately 340 more of the non-lead service lines before 2037. TriRiver Water plans to complete this in 2026.
LATEST DATA: City of Sanford service line inventory
Pittsboro
Due largely to the size difference of the system in Pittsboro, the process to meet the Lead and Copper Rule standard has been different than the process in Sanford.
The desktop study in Pittsboro utilized historical data, current records and customer feedback to identify the material of as many of the 2,879 service lines in town as possible.
TriRiver Water then physically dug up and visually identified all of the remaining service lines. When that process finished 2,812 of the lines were confirmed to be non-lead, 58 were identified as galvanized, eight were classified as unknown, and one was found to be lead.
LATEST DATA: Town of Pittsboro service line inventory
Galvanized service lines are made of iron or steel that has been dipped in zinc to prevent corrosion and rusting. However, that zinc coating can corrode over time and release lead that was previously absorbed from upstream lead lines.
Due to a lack of historical data, TriRiver Water cannot prove definitively that those 58 galvanized lines were never downstream of a lead service line. Therefore, according to the Lead and Copper Rule, those 58 galvanized service lines will need to be replaced.
The eight service lines classified as unknown were initially thought to exist according to Pittsboro records, but extensive research by field crews resulted in those lines not being found. Investigators said they now believe these lines do not exist and should be purged from the records.
TriRiver Water is currently working on a plan and funding to replace the 58 galvanized lines and one lead line. This will be completed as soon as possible. The Lead and Copper Rule update requires the replacements to happen before the end of 2037, but TriRiver Water expects to complete the project before then.
As a reminder, the corrosion control techniques utilized by TriRiver Water means that it is still safe to drink the water coming through those galvanized or lead service lines. However, the EPA still created a list of mitigation techniques you could implement to further reduce your possible exposure to lead in your drinking water.
What’s next?
Work is still being done to identify the service lines in Chatham County and Siler City. All service lines must be identified by the end of 2027. If any service lines are found that need to be replaced, they must be replaced by December 31, 2037.
A specific replacement timeline will be developed, if necessary, after the service lines have been identified. The EPA requires municipalities to replace the necessary service lines as quickly as possible, so if there are a small number to replace, they will not sit idle for years just because the national deadline is 2037.
Another part of the new rule is the creation and implementation of an updated sampling program that will more closely monitor lead levels throughout the system. Details on that program are still being finalized nationally.
Lasting changes to lead monitoring
Starting in 2028, the allowed amount of lead in drinking water will be reduced.
Before the changes, tap water samples could contain up to 15 parts per billion of lead before action was required. When 2028 arrives, that number will be reduced to 10 parts per billion.
The 15 and 10 parts per billion are known as the EPA’s action level. It means if testing reveals lead at or above the action level, the utility must inform customers and re-optimize its corrosion control treatment.
Required school water sampling
Another aspect of the updated Lead and Copper Rule includes requiring additional water sampling at schools and child care facilities starting in 2028.
Legal objections have been raised by some groups in the United States about the EPA’s ability to require this type of testing. It remains unclear what the final regulations will be regarding lead sampling in schools and childcare facilities. TriRiver Water is monitoring the situation and will be sure to comply with any and all federal and state regulations.
NCDEQ already requires public schools to test drinking water for lead contamination.