In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), Kleinfelder conducted field investigations and prepared an initial lead service line inventory of service line materials on the customer (private) side of the water meter, including all building types with a drinking water service for the City of San Diego, California.

History of Lead Service Lines

Lead water service lines were a commonly installed service line material throughout the early 1900s. The risks of lead plumbing are an increasing concern. The City of San Diego has worked diligently to identify and replace existing lead and galvanized service lines within the public water system for several decades. While this initiative has removed service lines in question on the City-side of the meter, it did not include replacement on the customer-owned side since inspection and replacement of the customer-side service line was not a requirement at that time.

Lead Service Line Inventory Deliverables

Kleinfelder developed an initial lead service line inventory that leverages existing data to identify customer service line materials. As part of this project, Kleinfelder investigated existing customer service line material records and conducted field investigations to verify the materials. In addition, a report, hotspot map, lead service line inventory public-facing online portal, and data processing spreadsheets have been established with the aid of predictive modeling and machine learning. These items serve as long-term tools and data infrastructure to assist in continuing to capture data and inform replacement of the customer service lines.

Project Results

The lead service line inventory has resulted in field investigation and material verification of 15,000 high-risk customer accounts.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the City of San Diego will have the tools necessary to inform the replacement of customer service lines, as well as the data infrastructure to continue to collect and report data.

Project Details

Location:
San Diego, CA
Owner:
City of San Diego