In 2024, the City of Renton will be doing an inventory of the water service line (small, buried pipes that bring water from the water main in the street to building plumbing) in our community. In Renton, we have split ownership: there is a utility-owned portion from the water main to the water meter, and a customer-owned portion from behind the water meter to the house/building. The inventory will identify the material type of the entire water service line.
Service lines can be made of copper, galvanized iron, galvanized steel, plastic, poly tubing, pex tubing, cast iron, ductile iron, or lead. Lead service lines have not been identified in the city’s water system, but the city does not have records of private pipe materials which is why we are doing the inventory. Our source water does not contain lead and our drinking water currently meets all federal and state water quality regulatory standards. Lead is most likely to come from corrosion of private household plumbing. The city’s drinking water is conditioned by adding sodium hydroxide to slightly raise its pH which helps prevent corrosion of household plumbing.
