Non-Lead Designation Statement

On January 16th, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency published the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) to better protect and improve public health by reducing exposure to lead through the water supply. Water systems operators are required to complete and submit an inventory of water service lines and their material composition by October 16th, 2024. The purpose is to identify any lead service lines within the water system.

As part of our commitment to provide safe and reliable drinking water to our customers, Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts (LACWD) has completed the initial water service line inventory required by the LCRR for all service areas. Through completing a review of historical records and field investigations,LACWDhas determined that there is no lead or galvanized requiring replacement service lines in the water distribution system for all service areas. This includes any privately-owned or customer-owned service lines.

LACWD reviewed all applicable sources of information, including

• Available construction and plumbing codes to assess historical regulation of lead service line disallowance (i.e., National Lead Ban, California State Codes, Los Angeles County Codes, and City Codes).
• Water distribution system records which indicate the service line materials, GIS data, customer account billing data, distribution system maps and drawings, as-builts, and meter installation records.
• Other available records including Los Angeles County Assessor parcel data and historic lead and copper tap sampling results.

In addition to reviewing the above sources of information, LACWD used an alternative method to develop the inventory that was approved by the California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water on a case-by-case basis.

LACWD used stratified random sampling to develop the initial inventory. Stratified random sampling involves physically verifying a subset of randomly selected water service lines in the distribution system. That subset is stratified or divided into groups based on certain characteristics (e.g., years the service lines were installed). Stratification allows for a sample or subset of service lines to be more representative of the service lines in the distribution system.

LACWD inspected 3,293 sites on the customer-side, 259 sites on the utility-side, and 566 sites on both sides. All of the water service lines inspected were non-lead. No lead or galvanized requiring replacement service lines were identified. Because no lead or galvanized requiring replacement service lines were discovered during the service line inspections, the remaining service lines may be assumed non-lead with a certain level of confidence.

LACWD intends to continue documenting water service line material information obtained from normal operations, such as service line maintenance, and will update the service line inventory accordingly.