Stark County water customers being warned of possible lead water lines

Water officials throughout Stark County are warning thousands of customers that they may have water lines that could need to be replaced due to new safe drinking water rules.

Customers who have a water service line made of lead, galvanized steel that was possibly exposed to lead or a material unknown to the water supplier will receive a letter from their supplier by Nov. 15. Customers whose service lines are made of non-lead bearing materials, such as copper or plastic, will not receive a letter.

The water service line is the smaller pipe that brings water from the large main waterline to the house or building.

The letters are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be sent annually to notify the customer of what pipe material their water supplier has on record for their property and that the pipe could contain lead.

The letters also provide tips to limit possible exposure to lead, which was outlawed in 1988 as a material used for water service lines. Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause learning and behavior problems, anemia and delayed growth in children and can increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney or nervous system problems in adults.

Customers are not required to take action now, as the letters are for notification and regulatory purposes. But new federal regulations will require waterlines made of lead, galvanized steel and unknown materials to be replaced within 13 years.

Customers typically are responsible for replacing service lines, but several area water providers are seeking grants and other funding to cover the cost.

Stark County has roughly 200 public water system operators, including restaurants, churches and apartment buildings that have their own systems.

The Canton Repository contacted Stark County’s four largest public water providers – Canton City, Aqua Ohio, North Canton and Alliance – to better understand what the notification letters and potential replacement requirement could mean for residents.

Here’s three things to know:

The notification letters are a followup to a required water pipe inventory that was due to the state by Oct. 16.

Public water system officials used historical records, service records and customer surveys to identify the composition of the water service lines, which often have split ownership. The supplier typically owns the pipe from the water main to the street curb and the customer owns the portion of the pipe from curb to their home or building.

Dina Pierce, public information officer for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said the state agency still is reviewing the inventory submissions and a county-by-county summary is not yet available. Each water supplier must make their inventory results public. The Canton Water Department, which serves 27,635 Canton customers and 15,240 customers outside the city in areas such as Hartville, East Canton, Beach City and Osnaburg, Lake, Plain and Canton townships, has created an online map that shows the material status of every service line at cantonohio.gov/2273/Lead-Awareness.

Canton, Aqua Ohio, which serves roughly 40,000 customers in the Massillon area and roughly 100 customers in North Canton, and the North Canton Water Department, which serves 9,201 customers, found no service lines made of lead.

Alliance, which serves nearly 10,000 customers, identified 1,666 customers with lead service lines and has been working to replace the lead lines since 2021.

Most of the notification letters are being sent in Stark County because water officials have been unable to confirm the pipe’s material, so they cannot rule out any possibility of lead. In some cases, the customer can remove themselves from the notification list by identifying the material of the pipe coming into their home and reporting it to the water supplier.

Similarly, the letters to customers with galvanized steel pipes are being sent because water officials cannot prove there was never a lead pipe upstream. The EPA said galvanized service lines can capture lead released from upstream lead service lines and, over time, the particles could enter the drinking water.

Local water officials emphasized they conduct routine tests to ensure lead levels remain below federal standards.

Canton Water Superintendent Tyler Converse said Canton’s water source, which is three aquifers, does not contain lead and that it does not have the corrosive water chemistry that causes leaching, which also reduces the possibility of lead exposure.

“Over the last 30 years that we have done compliance monitoring, sampling and testing, we have not exceeded the action levels and we have 30 years of data to support that,” Converse said.

See for yourself:Canton water quality reports

Canton will send notification letters to 4,865 customers who have unknown material lines and 3,223 customers who have galvanized water service lines.

Aqua Ohio sent its notification letters last month to 11,393 Stark County customers with unknown material lines and 1,119 Stark County customers with galvanized steel pipes.

North Canton is sending 2,378 letters to customers with service lines made with an unknown material. It has no customers with galvanized lines.

Besides the letters Alliance is sending to customers with lead service lines, the city also is sending letters to 3,156 customers with galvanized steel lines that will need to be replaced. Alliance has no unknown material lines.

Customers receiving a notification letter are not being asked to take any action now. But new federal rules, which were released on Oct. 8, require water suppliers to replace of all lead, galvanized steel requiring replacement and unknown material service lines by 2037.

Jeff La Rue, a spokesperson for Aqua Ohio, said the water supplier plans to replace its galvanized and unknown material service lines within five years. He said Aqua Ohio, which serves roughly 500,000 residents in 19 Ohio counties, has worked with the EPA to identify some funding that it can use to replace the service lines at no cost to the customer. Typically, replacing a service line from the curb to a home would be the customer’s responsibility.

Canton and North Canton water officials continue to review potential funding and potential legal issues for the replacement of the identified service lines in their distribution systems. Canton said the replacement could cost as much as $19 million, not including any money needed for line identification and annual notifications.

Alliance Safety-Service Director Mike Dreger said Alliance has received two $1 million grants that funded the cost for the replacement of lead service lines. The work is expected to be done by mid-2025. The city then expects to apply for a 50% grant for other service line replacements, he said.

Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or [email protected].

• Flush your tap if it has been unused for six or more hours to get rid of any lead that may have accumulated over time. The service lines should be flushed until you note a temperature change, then flush for one more minute.

• Use cold water for cooking, drinking and preparing baby formula because lead dissolves more easily in hot water. If needed, use cold water from the tap and then heat it. Boiling water will not reduce lead.

• Use an ANSI/NSF 53 certified lead filter to reduce lead levels in water.

• Regularly clean your faucet aerators to remove any lead-containing particles that could have built up inside the aerator screens.

• Take extra precautions for people who are pregnant, infants and young children, such as having the drinking water analyzed for lead, using bottled water or another alternative water source or using a filter for lead removal.

• Replace lead-containing plumbing fixtures, such as old faucets and valves.

• Have your child’s blood tested for lead at your local health department.

• Ask your water supplier whether they offer free water testing.

Source: Canton Water Department notification letters