Bartlesville residents to receive notifications; action required
Households across the U.S. — including those in Bartlesville — should receive notifications this month regarding their water service lines.
The notifications are required to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule, which ultimately aims to replace all lines made of lead and galvanized pipe.
“On Jan.15, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency issued revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule,” said Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen. “This rule required every water utility in the United States to inventory all water service lines connected to the distribution system by Oct. 16, 2024. This inventory applied to lines both on the public (City) and customer side of the water meter.”
The rule also requires an annual update of the inventory, development of strategies to identify unknown services lines, and public outreach and education, Lauritsen said.
“If a lead or galvanized service line is discovered on either the public or customer portion of the water service line, the City must notify the property owner of this finding and any available financing programs to replace this service line*,” he said. “If the water service line material on either the City’s or customer side of the meter cannot be confirmed, the City must notify the property owner that the service line material is unknown but may be lead.”
Lauritsen said the City has completed the record review/initial inventory and, of the 16,412 service line connections, 2,338 were confirmed to be non-lead or galvanized, 1 was confirmed as galvanized requiring replacement on the customer’s side of the meter, and 14,073 could not be determined from a record review, which is classified as unknown.
“In accordance with the EPA’s rule, the City will provide a notification to the properties that have either a galvanized or unknown service line,” he said.
The results will also published online through the City’s GIS website, https://arcgissrv.cityofbartlesville.org/arcgis/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a92f779249244786800903b49c90c275
“In addition to the notification, the City will send out a questionnaire to the unknown service lines to aid in the determination of the material for these services,” Lauritsen said. “We are asking everyone to complete the survey and return it so we can ensure that the requirements of the LCR are met.”
Return surveys to City of Bartlesville, ATTN: Water Dept., 401 S. Johnstone Ave., Bartlesville, OK 74003, or in person at the Utility Billing Office located on the first floor of City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave.
For more information, contact the Water Utilities Department at 918.338.4116. To access the questionnaire, see www.cityofbartlesville.org.
*At this time, there are no state or federal programs/financing options available.