Lead & Copper Rule
The Sudbury Water Department is dedicated to providing our residents with the highest quality water possible. The material of each building’s water line within our water system is vital to ensuring that customers are getting the cleanest water possible. One of the ways we can ensure the quality for all customers is through a Water Service Line Inventory.
If you recently received a Public Notice from the Sudbury Water District: “Your home is served by an unknown service line that may be lead”: We’re required by the EPA to inventory all water services connected to our system.
We encourage you to call us at (978) 639-4303 or email WaterQuality@SudburyWater.com to schedule a quick inspection to identify the pipe material entering your home or property.
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The Sudbury Water District is taking steps to comply with EPA’s new Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. To support this compliance, we have hired an engineering firm, Environmental Partners/Apex, to review our system records and identify lead or galvanized water services. If your property has been identified as having a lead or galvanized water service, you will receive a letter from us that includes steps you can take to reduce your risks of lead exposure. If we have been unsuccessful in identifying your service line material based on our records review, we will send you a letter requesting your assistance in determining your water service material. If you do not receive a letter, you should assume you do not have a lead or galvanized service, and no action is required. Letters will be sent out by November 15, 2024.
Over the next several years we will be making a concentrated effort to remove all lead and galvanized water services from the system and classify all unknown services. More information will be released on this program when available.
We have prepared an interactive map of all water service classifications for public use. Please use the link below to access the map.
Thank you for your continued support of the Sudbury Water District.
Opportunities to Verify Lead Service Materials
If you have an unknown material service, please follow the instructions on the original notification letter to indicate your self-assessment results (using the MassDEP Lead Service Line Identification Tool) and we may contact you once we receive your assessment, requesting access to your property to verify. Once we confirm your service is neither lead nor galvanized, we will remove you from the scheduled notification list. No further action on your part will be required.
If you have a lead or lead-lined galvanized iron service, please know that we are developing a replacement plan to be implemented within the next five years. We will keep you updated on the project’s progress as information becomes available.
For any questions, please contact us at (978) 639-4303 or email waterquality@sudburywater.com.
Please utilize the MassDEP Lead Service Line Identification Tool to send your service line information to the Sudbury Water District: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/f9ee39b7972f443ca63e8b936cd7f92b
For More Information
Click the image above for the EPA’s lead service line page.
What is lead?
Lead is a toxic metal found in nature and can get into your body by eating food, drinking water, accidentally swallowing soil and dust, or breathing air that contains lead.
What is a lead service line?
A pipe made of lead that connects your home to the water main in the street. Lead service line use was officially phased out in Sudbury before 1980.
Helpful Links
- CDC Health Effects of Lead Exposure.
- World Health Organization Lead in drinking water: Health risks, monitoring, and corrective actions.
- World Health Organization Lead Poisoning.
- Healthychildren.org information on the danger of lead in tap water.
- How to identify Lead Service Lines.
- EPA Ways to reduce potential lead exposure.