ASHLAND — More than 9,000 property owners across Ashland will find something different in their water bills later this month.
City officials are asking residents and business owners to fill out a survey that will determine the amount of lead service lines throughout Ashland.
The initiative comes straight from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said Mike Hunter, the city’s utilities director.
“We have to do our due diligence to make sure there are no lead service lines from the property line to the home,” Hunter said, adding the city will then report back to the EPA with the results.
What’s in the insert?
The bill insert depicts a diagram of a water meter with pipes coming from two directions: from the street and to the home. It lists possible pipe materials, such as copper, galvanized steel, plastic or lead.
It then asks for the customer’s address, year of construction and pipe size. Customers are then asked to check one of five boxes:
- Copper
- Plastic
- Galvanized steel
- Lead
- Not sure
“Lead is dull, very soft, and will turn a shiny silver color when lightly scratched with a coin or key,” reads the insert. “Magnets will only stick to steel. They do not stick to copper, lead or plastic.”
Officials encourage the insert, a postage-paid card, to be mailed back to the city by July 1.
If customers need further assistance in determining their pipes’ material, officials urge them to call 419-289-8322.
Hunter said the city has never done a survey like this — but he’s confident Ashland does not have lead water service lines. He cited a city ordinance passed in April 1931 that required city water lines to consist of copper.
“That’s the earliest book we have on file,” he said, adding there could be an earlier version of the edict because the one from 1931 seemed to read like a continuation of an existing ordinance.
The bigger picture
There are some 9.2 million lead pipes carrying water throughout the U.S., a report from the EPA shows. Ohio ranks third in the nation, with 745,061 lines, behind Illinois and Florida.
The EPA says no amount of lead, a neurotoxin, is safe for children’s bodies.
The agency’s report, released in April 2023, will help steer funding for states tasked with replacing lead lines.
A bipartisan infrastructure law that passed in 2021 includes $15 billion in funding for lead pipe replacement, according to a White House fact sheet.