Fairfax Water has sent about 137,000 letters to customers to help determine whether their pipes might contain traces of lead.
The utility says its source water from the Potomac River and Occoquan Reservoir has no detectable lead and maintains it has “always been in compliance” with federal drinking water guidelines.
However, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) was updated in 2021 to require water utilities to conduct more frequent lead testing at schools and childcare facilities, inventory service line materials and develop plans to replace any lead service lines identified in their systems.
With policy revisions finalized in early October, President Joe Biden’s administration mandated that all drinking water systems identify and replace lead pipes within the next 10 years. The EPA estimates that as many as 9 million homes in the U.S. have lead pipes.
To comply, Fairfax Water launched its “Lead Free Fairfax” program. As part of the initiative, the utility is sending letters to homes where the service line material is not documented and classified as “unknown” in its inventory.
So far, the utility has identified only 20 lead service lines out of more than 290,000 in its system, according to Fairfax Water spokesperson Susan Miller.
“That’s fewer than 0.007 percent,” she told FFXnow. “If you assume an average service line is about 50 feet long, that would come out to approximately 1,000 feet in total.”
Miller noted that laboratory tests conducted by the utility have shown “low or non-detect[able]” levels of lead.
“This indicates that Fairfax Water’s long-standing history of corrosion control treatment is effective at preventing lead from leaching out of the service line and into the drinking water,” she said.
Residents who don’t receive a letter fall into one of three categories, according a press release:
- Their service line was installed in 1979 or later, after the the U.S. banned lead-based paint in homes, and is considered non-lead
- They completed the utility’s online survey confirming their service line is non-lead
- Or Fairfax Water found records showing the line is made of non-lead material
To help it identify which service lines may still contain traces of lead, the utility is encouraging customers to complete its online survey.
While most of Fairfax County is served by Fairfax Water, the Town of Vienna still operates its own water utility — though discussions are underway to potentially change that. The town announced on Oct. 16 that it has determined all of its pipes are lead-free.
“Throughout the year, crews took inventory of all water service lines in town and discovered that, thankfully, there were no lead or galvanized water lines,” the town said. “Vienna’s water service lines and drinking water remain safe and secure.”
