A water service line is the pipe connecting a customer to the public water main. The entirety of the water service line is owned by and the responsibility of the customer.
View the water service line diagram to see common parts that make up a water service line and what they are called.
When a problem occurs on a service line, the Water Division, if requested, may provide the property owner with guidance in determining the cause of the problem and an appropriate course of action to remedy the situation. The customer will need to contract with a plumber or excavator to make the repairs.
Water service line leaks are expected to be repaired within 72 hours of notification.
Health risks and liabilities associated with private water and sanitary sewer services
Water and sanitary service pipes are owned by the property owner. These service pipes connect the home to public utilities. Think of them like a driveway; a driveway connects the home to a road and is owned by the property owner.
Service pipes will degrade over time and may require repair or replacement. Older homes may also have service pipes made of materials known to pose a health hazard or be prone to failure. For instance, many homes built before the lead ban in 1988 may have copper water pipes with leaded solder. Even older homes many have water service pipes made of lead or sanitary service pipes made of Orangeburg (a pipe material known to fail).
The City mitigates resident exposure to lead and other heavy metal by managing the chemistry of the public drinking water. This means we adjust the pH and chemical ratios to make the water non-corrosive and able to deposit a thin calcium layer on the inside of pipes to keep the water from touching the metal.
The City also has a Lead Reduction Program to provide homeowners with information and resources about their risk for lead exposure. For information about your home’s service line material please visit the Iowa City Lead Service Inventory Map.
Once the water enters a home many devices or mechanisms can change the chemistry of the drinking water. The most common items of concern are:
-
Stagnant water
-
Softeners
-
Softeners remove positive ions from the water and change the chemistry. This can lead to the water becoming corrosive because the water will look to replace these positive ions with what is available. The most available source for positive ions is the metal used in home plumbing and fixtures.
-
Iowa City water is softened from about 300 mg/L as calcium carbonate (17.5 grains per gallon) to 50 mg/L as calcium carbonate (3 grains per gallon). A home softener unit is for residents who would like their drinking water to have less than 1 grain per gallon hardness.
-
Plumbing work
-
When plumbing work is done there is the potential to lose the protective calcium layer on the inside of the pipe or material shavings to enter the water supply and be caught by the screens (aerators) on the end of a faucet.
-
Cleaning faucet aerators and asking a plumber to evaluate the home plumbing materials prior to work can mitigate some of the risk.
-
Dissimilar metals
-
Metals tend to corrode at different rates relative to each other. This is known as the galvanic scale and is the basis for some battery technologies. What it means for plumbing is if there are two metals in electrical contact with sufficient galvanic dissimilarity then one will corrode and release into the water.
-
Being in electrical contact does not necessarily mean touching each other. Many home electrical power systems run their Earth ground from the fuse panel to the water pipe meaning the entire pipe has the potential to be electrically connected.
Please use the information below as general guidance to assess your home’s service lines and associated health risks or financial liabilities for repair.
Reference the Water Division FAQ Sheet and the EPA’s Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water for more information about lead.
Water service pipes
|
Generalized risk profile for drinking water lead exposure from home plumbing sources based on the year the home was built
|
|
Year Home Built
|
Lead Service Pipe
|
Lead Solder Joints
|
Leaded Fixtures
|
|
<= 1950
|
Elevated
|
Elevated
|
Elevated
|
|
1950 >< 1988
|
Moderate
|
Elevated
|
Elevated
|
|
1988 =>< 2014
|
Low
|
Low
|
Moderate
|
|
>= 2014
|
Low
|
Low
|
Low
|
Residents are encouraged to perform three actions to develop a better understanding of their home’s lead exposure risk and to mitigate unexpected service line costs.
- Purchase a service line insurance product
- Request lead sampling from the University’s Get the Lead Out Iowa program or the Iowa City Water Division (319-356-5160)
- Investigate your home’s plumbing
If these steps inform you of a lead exposure risk you find to be unacceptable, please review the information in the City’s Lead Reduction Program or contact the Iowa City Water Division to discuss at 319-356-5160.
Sanitary sewer service pipe
|
Generalized risk for Orangeburg sewer service based on the year the home was built
|
|
Year home built
|
Orangeburg risk
|
|
<1940
|
Low
|
|
1940 =><= 1979
|
Moderate
|
|
>1979
|
Low
|
Orangeburg is a tradename for a particular type of pipe made of compressed fibrous materials and held together by pitch. Because the fibers tend to be wood pulp and the pitch doesn’t maintain water resistance forever, the pipes tend to collapse. The pipes are also easily blocked by tree roots or other intrusions over time.
If there is a risk for Orangeburg the City recommends having the sanitary sewer service pipe televised by a plumber.
Please reference the City of Tempe, AZ Orangeburg FAQ for additional information and the City of Santa Barbara, CA Sewer Lateral Defects – Visual Glossary to see the type of information you can learn about your sanitary sewer service pipe from a plumbing contractor televising the line.
A general best practice if for a property owner to have their sanitary sewer service inspected and maintained by a plumber on a defined frequency. Many factors can impact the condition of your sewer service. These factors include pipe material, tree or other plant roots, grease from cooking, or products such as wipes or other non-flushables. The City recommends an inspection of your sewer service at least every 5 years.
Sanitary sewer service insurance is also available from Service Line Warranties of America.Read the marketing agreement with SLWA online.
