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Lancaster wants to find out what the water pipes going into homes are made of. inspect round pipe
Only about 20% of customers have self-reported what type of material their pipes are – lead, copper, galvanized metal or plastic – so volunteers will be helping out for the next five weeks.
Volunteers with AmeriCorps are going door-to-door to inspect the pipes.
"We do a scratch test and a metal test to see if it's galvanized lead or copper," said Jasmine Pierce, an AmeriCorps volunteer.
The Biden administration issued a final rule this month requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years.
The volunteers found copper pipes in the home of the Curtis family. Bill Curtis, who was a master plumber for 40 years, replaced the lead pipes in his 100-year-old home about five years ago.
"I thought, man, that ain't good. It's bad for health for children and adults and causes all kinds of learning disabilities in kids," said Bill Curtis.
"Most of these homes out here are between 90 to 100 years old. They're going to find a lot (of lead pipes), I think," said Geri Curtis.
When a lead pipe is exposed to air and water, it oxidizes, and lead can leach into the water. Lead in drinking water has been linked to a number of health issues.
"There's no good level of lead, whether it's lead in water or lead-based paint," said Doug Henninger, a water utility treatment manager.
Henninger said all hands are on deck for the inspection. The Lancaster water system has almost 50,000 service connections.
"Once the inventory is complete, you know where they're all at, to eventually replace them in the next 13 years," Henninger said.
The replacements — with an average customer line cost of $10,000 — will run in the millions. However, the system expects to get federal and state grants to pay for the work.
Lancaster uses a corrosion control treatment that creates a protective layer inside pipes to help prevent the leaching of lead.
If your home was built after 1991, it does not have lead pipes. If you need help verifying what type of service line you have, call 717-291-4818.
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