City of St. Louis to Update Water Service Line Inventory

The City of St. Louis announced today that the Water Division is seeking to update its inventory of water service lines and will contact all water customers in the City whose service lines are either known to contain lead or whose service line materials are unknown.

For more than 20 years, the City has been treating its water with an optimized corrosion control treatment strategy, which minimizes the absorption of lead from customers' service lines or internal plumbing. The Water Division routinely tests City water, and this treatment has been shown to be effective in keeping lead levels in customers' homes well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action level of 15 parts per billion, and also well below the 10 ppb action level set to take effect in 2027. The Water Division tests water quality at the treatment plants multiple times a day and tests the water at a representative sample of homes with lead service lines to meet the EPA's regulatory requirements for compliance.

As a first step in complying with the Environmental Protection Agency's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements announced on Oct. 8, the City of St. Louis is notifying all customers in the City whose service line either contains lead or whose materials are unknown to the City. These notifications will be made by letter in early November.

Customers notified of their service line's lead or unknown status will be asked to complete an online survey or respond by email to the St. Louis Water Division to help the division determine if its service line inventory accurately reflects the conditions at the customer's address.

Currently, the service line inventory is based on historical records and includes approximately 113,000 service lines. Approximately 9,000 have a status of lead, 46,000 have a status of non-lead, and 58,000 have a status of unknown.

The Water Division has applied for federal funding, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will be used to offer financial assistance to qualifying customers choosing to replace water service lines containing lead. This $5M lead service line replacement funding request has been put on the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' fundable list in the Fiscal Year 2025 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan (Adopted Oct. 8, 2024).

Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can result in new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have an increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems.

Lead in drinking water, although rarely the sole cause of lead poisoning, can significantly increase a person's total lead exposure. Infants who drink baby formulas and concentrates that are mixed with water containing lead are particularly at risk. The EPA estimates that drinking water can make up 20% or more of a person's total exposure to lead.

Steps You Can Take to Reduce Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water

Run the cold water to flush out lead. If a faucet has not been used for several hours, allow the water to run at the tap for 15 to 30 seconds or until it becomes cold and reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or cooking. This flushes lead-containing water from the pipes. The water you run from drinking water taps does not have to be wasted; you can use this water for cleaning purposes or watering plants. You may want to keep a container of drinking water in your refrigerator, so you don't have to run water every time you need it.

Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Do not drink or cook with water from the hot water tap, as lead dissolves more easily in hot water. Do not use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.

Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead content.

If water testing has shown you have elevated lead in your drinking water, you may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter. Read the package to be sure the filter is approved to reduce lead, with NSF/ANSI 53-2021 labeling, or contact the National Sanitation Foundation at 800-673-8010 for information on performance standards for water filters. If you choose to install a lead-removal filter, be sure to maintain and replace the filter device according to the manufacturer's instructions to protect water quality.

Additional information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at epa.gov/safewater/lead or at stlwater.com/water-quality/lead-and-water.php.

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