Lead-Safe Prince William

A glass of water with a leaf in it

Our Drinking Water System

Prince William Water is committed to providing safe drinking water to our customers, being proactive in adhering to the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).  All water distribution systems and service lines owned and maintained by Prince William Water are non-lead.

This webpage is designed to provide Prince William Water customers with the information you need regarding the LCRI, how to test your water service lines and notifications sent to the customers about their service line material. 

Prince William Water's suppliers, Fairfax Water and the City of Manassas, add corrosion inhibitors that contain phosphate. Corrosion control is essential to prevent the dissolution of lead from lead solder in older homes and to extend the life of household pipes. Prince William Water's state-certified Water Quality Laboratory conducts or oversees state and federal testing to ensure that our water meets or exceeds regulatory standards.

Know Your Lines

Water Service Lines are pipes that carry water from the water main into the customer's home or business. A water service line connects each home and business to the main distribution system. Prince William Water owns and maintains the service lines from the water main to the customer's water meter. Customers own and maintain the service line between the water meter and their building.

Lead & Copper Rule Improvements

On October 8, 2024, the EPA finalized the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), mandating that drinking water systems nationwide identify and replace utility owned and maintained lead pipes and certain galvanized service lines within 10 years or less. The LCRI also enforces stricter testing of drinking water and lowers the threshold for communities to take action against lead exposure.

This new rule enhances the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) from December 2020, which required water systems to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials. These initial inventories were submitted to state agencies on October 16, 2024.

Prince William Water is currently conducting an inventory of service lines on the property owner’s side of the meter to verify the materials used. You can assist by inspecting your home plumbing and reporting the pipe material of your water service line. Follow the provided guidelines below to inspect and submit this information.

Under the EPA’s LCRI, water utilities must notify customers with lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown status service lines within 30 days of completing the inventory and annually thereafter. This requirement took effect on October 16, 2024.

If you receive a Notice of Lead Service Line Material:  

It means Prince William Water has identified the service line that provides water to your residence or business from the water meter as a lead service line. 

If you receive a Notice of Unknown Service Line Material:  

This means that Prince William Water does not have a record of the material of the service line connecting your home to the main water supply. This notice is important because it indicates there might be a potential risk, such as the presence of lead or other harmful materials. Simply inspect the pipes coming into your home and then fill out the form below and submit it.

If you receive a Notice of Galvanized Requiring Replacement Service Line Materials:  

This means that Prince William Water has identified that the service line connecting your home to the water meter is made of galvanized steel.  The EPA has defined “Galvanized Requiring Replacement” to mean where a galvanized service line is or was at any time downstream of a lead service line or is currently downstream of a “Lead Status Unknown” service line. If the water system is unable to demonstrate that the galvanized service line was never downstream of a lead service line, it must be presumed there was an upstream lead service line.                                           

If you didn’t receive a Notice of your Service Line Material:  

This generally means that Prince William Water has already identified the material of your service line. This is a good sign because it indicates that we have the necessary information about the materials used in your water service line, and there are no immediate concerns that require your attention.

How to Test Your Lines

  1. Get a strong magnet and a key or a coin. 
  2. Find where your service line enters your home. There will likely be a main shut-off valve in a basement, crawl space, or utility closet where the pipe comes into the house.
  3. Test the material of the pipe coming from the street. Scratch the pipe with the key or coin, then hold the magnet to the pipe and see if it sticks. Compare your results to the options below. Galvanized steel and lead look similar and the magnet test is the easiest way to tell the difference.

Lead Characteristics: 

  • Gray or silver
  • Scratch test: Shiny and silver; soft and scratches easily
  • Magnets will not stick
  • Widens at base and forms a "bulb"

Galvanized Steel Characteristics:

  • Gray or silver

Submit Your Water Service Line Information

Service Address
What is your water service line material at the Point of Entry? (This is the material of the pipe bringing water into your home.)
One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, jpeg, png.
Do you know if your water service line has been replaced?

Additional Information

Select the option that applies best.

If you have questions, please connect with the Prince William Water at: leadandcopper@pwwater.org.

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Additional Resources