Westerville Water Service Inventory Project Overview

As part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) revised 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) the City of Westerville must identify and inventory water service lines within the City of Westerville water System. The City has contracted with a local engineering firm - Stantec Consulting Services - to perform a system-wide inventory of service line materials. Both the public (City) and private (homeowner) service line material will be collected, and the information made available to the public.

The project is well underway and has started by examining the City of Westerville's Geographical Information Services (GIS) information to determine data gaps and to identify areas where further inspection is required. Stantec is partnered with BlueConduit, a company that aids with water service line inventories by providing service locations to examine to help optimize their predictive model for Westerville.

From BlueConduit's model and Stantec's inspection data, a full inventory of service line materials will be developed and delivered to the Ohio EPA. Letters will be mailed by November 15, 2024 if additional action is needed.

Did you receive a letter? View more information and submit your service line material report at www.westerville.org/WaterServiceLine

Timeline

• January - Early June: Data Verification (Complete)
• June - August: Stantec Field Data Collection (Complete)
• September: Report and Inventory Prepared (Complete)
• October: Inventory Submitted to Ohio EPA (Complete)
• November: Affected property owners/residents contacted (Mailed 11/15/2024) - More information at www.westerville.org/WaterServiceLine
• November - December: Resident reporting of service line materials

• January - March: Public Service verification of unknown service line materials.
• October: Updated inventory submitted to OEPA
• November: Affected property owners/residents contacted

Project Contact

R Johnson | Westerville Utilities Supervisor
Phone: 614-901-6740 | Email: publicservice@westerville.org
To schedule an inspection please contact WestervilleWaterSurvey@stantec.com.

Resources

• Lead and Copper in Public Water Systems | Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
• Learn About Lead | Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
• Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water | US EPA

For more information, click on the following frequently asked questions:

Drinking water leaving the Westerville Water Treatment Plant, and most other water plants, does not contain lead. Any lead that potentially ends up in drinking water comes from building service lines or internal plumbing. The most common source of lead is the solder that was used until 1986 to join copper pipes and as a component in faucets. When water that is corrosive comes in contact with lead-containing plumbing materials, some of the lead dissolves into the water. The longer the water sits stagnate in the plumbing, the greater the potential for lead in the water.  

To reduce the potential of the building plumbing contributing lead to water, water treatment plants can make the water less corrosive by adjusting the water pH or adding a corrosion control chemical. To reduce the potential for lead contamination, Westerville adjusts the pH of the water and adds phosphate to inhibit corrosion. As a result, Westerville water is in compliance with EPA lead regulations.

Westerville is not aware of any existing lead water service lines in our system. If the water line entering your home prior to the meter is metal that is silver or gray, it is likely galvanized, but could be lead. One way to check is that galvanized pipe is magnetic and lead is not soft enough to be scratched with a coin. If you believe you may have a lead water line, please contact the Westerville Water Division to verify at (614) 901-6770.

Possible Lead Water Service Lines