Metro Water Services maps out where lead pipes are left in their service area

Oct 30, 2024

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Following Metro Water's service line inventory which searched for lead pipes still under the ground in Nashville, the results are in.

Last month, we showed you crews out and about using a handheld tool to identify metals. The inventory also included reviewing old records, customer surveys, and permits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required the inventory.

Now, the water utility has created an interactive map that lets customers type in their addresses and find out the material of the service line at their property.

Follow this link to the interactive map.

You may not realize that the only portion of the water line that is the water service's responsibility is the section from the meter to the main. The section from the meter to the home is the property owner's.

On the map, colored circles show the pipe material according to Metro Water's inventory. The circle has a line through it signifying the utility's side and the customer's side of the service line. Green is any currently approved material for a water line. That's typically copper or ductile iron on the utility side and copper, ductile iron, galvanized iron, PEX, or PVC on the private side. Yellow is Galvanized requiring replacement. Galvanized pipes are, or have been downstream of lead and or unknown materials. Light Blue is unknown, and per the EPA, these must be assumed to be lead until the service can be accessed. Red is lead.

"As we find lead service lines on our side, we replace them," said Sonia Allman, spokesperson for Metro Water Services. "Same thing with when we go out and we find something that needs to be repaired. While we're repairing we're going to replace it."

Under the EPA's updated standard, every lead line now needs to be replaced in the next 10 years.

We looked at the national average cost for a 25-foot line. The average cost is $3,750, according to Forbes. The report says if your water line is shorter than 25 feet, you could pay as little as $1,125. But if you own a large plot of land in a suburban area, your water line could be as long as 100 feet long. For this, you could face a bill of up to $12,000 or more.

Metro Water says the city will be discussing how to make that more affordable for homeowners.

"What kinds of grants are available? What types of options are out there? It's going to be something we're going to do a lot of research and put work into so we can do what's best for our community and residents in our community," Allman said.

Since you cannot see, taste, or smell lead in water, testing is the only way to tell whether there are harmful amounts of lead in your drinking water.

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