Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)

Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)

KSA was founded on providing water and wastewater services to local municipalities, and over the past 43 years has grown to 11 offices in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. KSA is the go-to engineering consultant that can provide technical assistance to communities throughout these three states regarding compliance of Lead and Copper rules as outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental regulatory agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

 The EPA finalized the LCRR on December 16, 2021. According to the TCEQ, “The revised rule details additional public health protection measures and applies to community and non-transient noncommunity public water systems. These systems must come into compliance by October 16, 2024.

Under the revised rule, systems must develop and submit a Lead Service Line Inventory for both the utility owned service lines and the customer service lines. Service lines must be categorized as lead, galvanized requiring replacement, lead status unknown, or non-lead.”

The purpose of the Service Line inventory is to identify and eliminate the existing lead service lines that serve water to customers. There is no safe level of lead in drinking water especially for those who have compromised immune systems, pregnant woman, and children. This inventory will identify and in turn notify customers of the materials used in and at their homes. These lead service lines affect every person, and therefore it has become a national priority. There is funding that may be made available to replace these service lines and other community type projects once the problem areas have been identified.

Inventories must include the following:

  • All service lines, both public and private, that are connected to the public water distribution system.
  • Categorization of each service line:
    • Lead
    • Galvanized Required Replacement
    • Non-Lead
    • Lead Status Unknown

How can KSA provide professional services to assist in the Lead Service Line Inventory?

  • Set up for public notification mail outs.
  • Newspaper Advertisements.
  • Public service announcements/news stories.
  • Messages on water bills.
  • Assistance in compiling data on service line and household plumbing materials.
  • Project planning.
  • Engineering and design for replacement of service lines.
  • Permitting.
  • Assistance in reporting to regulatory agencies.

Once the data Is collected, what’s next?

Once service line data is collected KSA can assist clients with the following:

  • Sorting and categorization of the data.
  • Submission of required Inventory and data to regulatory agencies.
  • Assistance in prioritizing the data.
  • Identify and detail any noted problem areas.
  • Plan projects for replacement.
  • Assist with funding opportunities.
  • Engineer and design projects.

KSA is already working with communities in Texas to help bring their water systems into compliance. We have the knowledge, understanding and ability to begin working with your community or utility district to begin moving toward compliance. For additional information about the technical requirements of Lead and Copper Rule Revisions and Lead Service Line Inventories, please do not hesitate to reach out to KSA at ksaeng.com or by calling 877.572.3647.

If this topic is something you want to learn more about, Angie Sanchez, KSA Municipal Team Leader, and Sigi West, KSA Regulations Compliance Specialist, will be sharing their knowledge at the upcoming 2023 Texas Chapter - American Public Works Association (TX-APWA) Public Workshop in Georgetown, Texas, on February 7th and 10:20 AM.