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Lead and Copper Program

Home / Services / Utilities / Lead and Copper Program

Lead and Copper Rule Revision

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1986 which banned the use of lead and lead solder in plumbing. The rule has been modified over the years to further reduce exposure to lead in drinking water pipes. Recently, the EPA revised the Lead and Copper Rule to require that public utility providers nationwide take an inventory of the service line on the customer’s side of the meter and develop a lead service line replacement program. The ultimate goal is to eliminate all service lines with lead within 10 years.

To comply with the new rule, Polk County Utilities reviewed historic records to determine the materials of construction and developed a list of all customer service lines. The rule requires that if building documents do not specifically state what the line is made of (such as PVC or poly tubing), the utility must include it on the service line of Unknown Material List and that further investigation is required to determine what type of materials were used to construct the service line.

The use of lead in water piping was banned nationwide in 1986. Any home or service constructed after that date is not included on the Unknown Material List. The inventory produced by Polk County includes many of those homes built prior to that date.

If the building records did not specifically state the materials of construction, the customer received a Notice of Unknown Service Line Material.

What’s next?

The next step in this process is for Polk County Utilities to visit neighborhoods to expose (dig up) the service line to determine if lead is present in the fitting or solder. This investigation will begin at the end of 2024 and through the first half of 2025. As we determine the materials of construction of the service lines, Polk County Utilities will notify individual customers that we have confirmed there is not lead in their service line and that their property has been removed from the list.

If it is discovered that the service line contains lead, PCU will notify customers of their options to upgrade the service line to current standards.

Polk County Water is High Quality

Polk County Utilities (PCU) provides clean, safe drinking water to our customers. We are responsible to ensure that the water we produce and deliver meets the requirements of the federal, state, and county regulatory agencies as well as the best management practices of the drinking water industry. We achieve this goal by continually monitoring and testing the water from its source, through the distribution system, to your tap. Part of ensuring that your water is safe and clean is the participation and compliance with new or changing water quality standards and system requirements.

Polk County Utilities’ source water and water supply facilities are lead-free. Our water distribution system was built after the Safe Drinking Water Act banned the use of lead and lead solder in plumbing in 1986 and no lead pipes have been found in our water distribution system. Test results from water sampling throughout the system have confirmed that Polk County Utilities’ water treatment processes are effective.

View Water Quality Reports

Until your customer-owned service lines are verified lead-free:

If you are worried that your customer-owned service line may contain lead or lead solder, follow the best practices below. These practices may be used individually or in combination with each other.

Flush stagnant water from your tap before using it.

  • If the tap has not been used for several hours, run the water for 15-30 seconds (or until it becomes cold) before using it for drinking or cooking. Running water for 15 to 30 seconds only adds $1 to $2 on your monthly bill.

Do not use hot water from the tap for drinking or cooking.

  • Boiling water does not reduce lead levels.
  • Do not use hot water from the tap when preparing baby formula.

Use a water filter.

Polk County Utilities is providing faucet filters to homeowners with pipes on the Unknown Material List at no cost. Call (863) 298-4100 to request a filter.

  • Maintain the device and replace the filter as instructed.
  • Make sure the water filter is approved for reducing lead. Contact NSF International at 800-NSF-8010 or visit www.nsf.org for more information about your filter.

Have questions?

Reach out to the experts at Polk County Utilities:

Ashley Pike
Compliance Projects Supervisor
(863) 298-4216

Craig Kristof
Senior Environmental Specialist
(863) 298-4281

The Environmental Protection Agency amended the Lead and Copper Rule to require water providers nationwide to inventory the service lines from the meter to the customer’s house to determine the materials of construction.

If the documentation for the construction of your home did not state what material the service line is made of, PCU is required to list is as unknown and notify you that your service line may potentially contain lead or lead solder.

Our next step is to investigate the service lines on the unknown materials list and determine if they have lead. If they do, PCU is developing a program to upgrade the line to either PVC or a poly tubing material.

PCU will develop a service line replacement program to upgrade any service lines that are discovered to contain lead or lead solder.

PCU will communicate with customers during its investigation of customer-owned service lines. As we determine the materials of construction of the service lines, we will notify individual customers that we have confirmed there is not lead in their service line and they have been removed from the list. If it is discovered that the service line contains lead, we will notify customers of their options to upgrade the line to current standards.

Polk County Utilities is committed to providing safe and reliable drinking water for residents and guests in its service area. We have been testing for lead for years and consistently demonstrated that our water supplies are free of lead, copper and other contaminants.

Lead rarely occurs in groundwater, so the primary source of lead is from piping. Polk County gets our water from the Floridan aquifer which is naturally low in lead.

The aquifer is made of limestone, which adds calcium carbonate to the water – a natural buffer to prevent lead pipes from leaching.

Polk County’s water is non-aggressive. Aggressive water means that the pH is not neutral and that there are no buffering compounds, such as calcium carbonate. Polk County uses sodium hypochlorite for disinfection, which also raises pH, ensuring a non-aggressive water.

Even if you have lead in your home’s plumbing, it is unlikely to leach into the water due to the non-aggressive water and the buffering of calcium carbonate.

Polk County Utilities’ inventory does not include properties receiving water from private wells. Lead rarely occurs in groundwater, so the primary source of lead is from piping. If you have concerns about a private well, please contact the Polk County Department of Health for information on how to test for lead or other contaminants.