CINCINNATI — Thousands of renters and homeowners will be receiving letters from Greater Cincinnati Water Works in the coming weeks notifying them about any lead service lines on their properties, the utility agency announced.
The letters will be sent out beginning the week of Sept. 2. The notifications are a result of changes made by the U.S. EPA to federal regulations involving lead in drinking water.
One of those changes requires utility companies to annually notify all customers who may have a lead service line on their property. That notification will also include customers who have lines made from galvanized steel, which may contain lead, and customers with lines made of unknown materials, GCWW said.
In the Greater Cincinnati area served by GCWW, the agency estimates there are around 35,000 lines that meet this criteria.
"The utility will send approximately 5,000 letters per week for 10 weeks to promote a more manageable volume of telephone calls and emails from customers who may have questions after receiving the letter," reads the announcement from GCWW.
In all, the utility estimates it will be sending a total of 50,000 letters, which includes multiple letters that will be sent to the tenants, landlords and agents of rental properties.
"It is important to note the presence of a lead line does not pose an immediate threat to customers," said GCWW in the press release.
The utility went on to explain that, when drinking water leaves GCWW's treatment plant it contains no lead. However, lead can enter the water if the pipes connecting water mains to a building, indoor plumbing or interior fixtures are made of lead, GCWW said.
The utility said it uses a mixture of chemicals to coat the interior of service lines to minimize any risk of lead getting into the water.
Since 1928, Cincinnati has required the use of copper pipes instead of lead or galvanized steel ones, but some service lines located on private property may still contain lead.
GCWW has been working to replace those lead pipes at no cost to customers; the utility said it hopes to have all lead service lines in the Greater Cincinnati area served by GCWW by 2037. So far, the agency has replaced nearly 6,000 lead lines since 2018, when the Enhanced Lead Service Line Replacement Program launched.
In addition, the utility averages around 1,200 replaced lines annually, though GCWW said it expects to increase that to around 3,600 annually in the coming years because of the changes to federal regulations.
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