Wilmington Water is continuing our decades-long commitment to reducing the potential of exposure to lead through drinking water.  While there is no lead in the drinking water we produce, lead was used in some home plumbing and some water service lines that connect customers to our system. 

Our treatment process greatly reduces the possibility that lead from service lines could end up in your drinking water, and we have always complied with the Lead and Copper Rule.  To continue our compliance efforts, Wilmington Water implemented a Lead Reduction Program that provides additional protections for our customers.

During a recent 12-month period, our program has checked 100 city blocks, identified lines for 1,700 properties, and replaced nearly 1,000 of them with 2.6 miles of copper pipe.   Our work is always conducted with cost and customer convenience in mind; wherever possible, Wilmington Water combines the service line effort with our Small Mains replacement project that targets our aging infrastructure.

EPA regulations require all water systems to create a baseline inventory of service lines connecting homes and businesses to public water mains by November 1, 2027.  The goal?  To determine where lead service lines may remain in our nation's water systems.

Find Out What Your Service Line Is Made Of: Wilmington Water is continuing our progress toward a complete service line inventory, which will fully inform our development of a fair and equitable replacement program.  We recently launched an online map to show our inventory progress and enable customers to see what their water service line is made of. 

How You Can Identify Your Plumbing: Because Wilmington Water cannot enter private properties to identify service lines, we continue to ask our customers to take our easy-to-use Water Service Line Material Survey.  By taking the survey, home and business owners can make sure their private plumbing doesn't contain lead.

If lead is found, they - and other properties identified by Wilmington Water - will receive information about the precautions they can take and how they can replace their line.   

These steps can be initiated by either Wilmington Water or the customer.  Under the steps it initiates, Wilmington Water will notify homeowners before replacement work begins.

Take Part in Our Systemwide Lead Testing: Because Wilmington Water's lead levels have fully complied with the Lead and Copper Rule for a set period of time, we are required to test for lead across our system every three years, not every year as required of others. 

This summer, we will conduct our triennial sampling at 50 locations throughout our service area.   To make the sampling successful, we would like to ask for your help.  By signing up to serve as a sampling site, you will receive helpful information about your water quality while helping us comply with federal regulations. 

If you would like your home or business to serve as one of our sampling sites, sign up today using this form.

Have any questions?  Contact us for more information or for help completing your survey.