Last November, the City of Paris entered phase two of a water service line inventory as part of an Environmental Protection Agency initiative to improve drinking water safety.
Within three years, the EPA requires all water suppliers to compile an inventory of service lines to determine what materials are in the connections.
Service Lines are the pipes that connect a water main to the water meter and from the meter to a home or business. The city owns the section between the water main and the meter, and the customer is responsible for the line from the meter to the structure.
Phase one of the inventory process identified 9,200 service lines as being of unknown materials.
In phase two, the Public Works Department is systematically inspecting each service line to determine the materials used.
Per EPA requirements, the city will soon mail letters to any customer with a service line still listed as being made of unknown materials.
“If you receive a letter, it simply means that your service line material is unknown and is on the list for inspection in the future,” Director of Utilities Danny Rowell said. “Our water is safe, and the system is rated as superior by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.”
The city has a crew assigned to inspect the unknown connections remaining in the inventory.
“Our inspection process is typically to open the water meter box, clean out any accumulated dirt and trash, and examine the pipes on both sides of the meter,” Public Works Director Michael Smith said. “So far, we haven’t found any active connections containing any lead or galvanized steel parts.”
If staff locates any connection that requires replacement, the procedure is to immediately enter a Texas811 request to mark underground utility lines in the area and replace the city-owned service line portion as soon as possible.
If crews find a problem in the connection from the meter to the home or business, the property owner is responsible for replacing that line.
