Lead Service Line Information

A lead service line (LSL) is a pipe made of lead which is used in potable water distribution to connect a water main to a user's premises. Lead exposure is a public health hazard as it causes developmental effects in fetuses, infants, and young children. The Village has the below informational materials to help residents understand more about lead service lines.

Residents looking to learn more about lead within the Village may view the most recent IEPA Draft Lead Service Line Replacement Plan.

Where Does Lead Come From?

Water entering the Village distribution system does not contain lead.  However, through corrosion of household plumbing materials, lead can leach into the water before it gets to your faucet.  Through the Village’s water service line material inventory, the Village has found that homes built after 1960 are less likely to include a lead service line. While homes that are built prior to 1960 have an increased chance of including lead within their plumbing system, verification of the material is the only way to definitively know.

To minimize contamination resulting from corrosion, the Village’s water supplier, City of Highland Park, has implemented a corrosion control program that has been in place since 1992. This incorporates an EPA recommended corrosion control treatment at the Water Treatment Plant and periodic testing of selected homes to measure treatment effectiveness. The Village complies with all sampling regulations, including those that are directed towards single-family dwellings.

Lead Service Lines

The service line connects your home to the Village’s water main.  The Village owns the portion of the line between the water main and the shutoff valve located in the parkway.  The property owner is responsible for the line between the shutoff valve and the house.  In homes built prior to approximately 1960, the service line was usually constructed of lead pipe.  Between 1960 and 1980 plumbers began predominantly using copper versus lead. The service line to homes built after 1980 were constructed of copper.  A homeowner can look at the pipe material that proceeds the water meter to determine the pipe material.  Further instruction on how best to check a particular water service is below.

If the water main was replaced on your block, the service line from the water main to the shutoff valve in the parkway was replaced with copper pipe.  However, the homeowner’s portion of the service line, from the house to the shutoff valve, was not replaced.

Water Service Information Lookup

The Village of Deerfield has now made available to the public a Water Service Material Lookup to find information regarding both the public and private portions of your water service. The material shown for the private portion of the water service line is derived from installation age, or when available, inspection data from the inside of the building. Because the service line is buried, the material identified inside the building is a good indication of, but does not guarantee, the material along the entire buried service line. An address lookup of all residential Village water services and their public and private side material types can be accessed below.

How do I check if my service is lead? Lead is a very soft, dull gray metal. You can carefully scratch the pipe of soldered joint with a key or screwdriver. If the area turns a bright silver color, the pipe or solder is most likely lead. Note: Galvanized piping is also gray in color. You can use a strong magnet to determine if the pipe is galvanized. The magnet will cling to galvanized pipes, but not to lead pipes. If the scraped area is copper in color, like a penny, your service line is copper.  Our water supplier, the City of Highland Park, has developed a video with additional information about determining your water service material. This video can be found here. Please contact Public Works to provide any updated records of the private portion of the water service line material.

Enter your address to check details of the materials in your property's service line.

What are the Health Impacts of Lead?

Lead can impact almost every organ and system in your body.  Exposure to high lead levels can severely impair mental function and damage the kidneys.  Pregnant/nursing women and children under the age of six are most vulnerable.   Additional information is available from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/.   According to the EPA, the most likely exposure to lead is swallowing lead paint chips or breathing in lead paint dust.

What Can Residents Do to Minimize Lead Exposure in Drinking Water?

If a property does have a lead component to their water service, the below steps can be taken to minimize any lead intact.

• If the water in your home hasn’t been used for a several hours, run the water for at least 5 minutes or more to ensure that you are receiving fresh water from the water main.
• Always use cold water for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula. Place a glass of water in the bedroom for members of the family who get up in the night for a drink of water.
• Boiling water does not remove lead.
• Periodically remove and clean the faucet aerator/screen. While removed, run the water to eliminate any debris.
• Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead. Brass faucets, valves, and fittings may leach lead in to the homes drinking water. Products sold after Jan 4. 2014, by law must contain very low levels of lead. Be sure to read the label on new plumbing fixtures to verify that the products are certified for low lead content (less than 0.25 percent by weight).
• Consider investing in a home treatment device. Potential treatment options can include filters, reverse osmosis units and distillers.
• Residents who have lead water services and are interested in replacing them are encouraged to review the Village’s Residential Lead Service Line Replacement Cost Sharing Program.