INDIANAPOLIS — Citizens Energy Group is rolling out a massive communication campaign to notify more than 75,000 Indianapolis residents and business owners who may have lead service lines on their properties.
It comes after the United States Environmental Protection Agency mandated that all water utilities across the country send an annual notification to customers as part of a new update to the Lead & Copper Rule.
A service line is an underground pipe that pulls in water from the main line to the home. Many homes and buildings built before 1950 include a service line made of lead.
Citizens Energy started sending letters the week of Oct. 13. It lists an address and the type of service line on the property — lead, galvanized requiring replacement or unknown.
If a customer doesn’t receive a letter, it means the service line has been confirmed as non-lead.
“It will tell you our best guess of what your service line is made of, and that’s important because Citizens doesn’t own the service line. It is the property of the homeowner or the building owner,” said Ben Easley, a spokesperson for Citizens Energy Group.
The letter will also give the next steps for customers to reduce their exposure to lead in drinking water, how to get their water tested and where to find more information.
Citizens Energy is working to replace all service lines that contain lead through its multi-year replacement program. To date, Citizens crews have replaced more than 2,000 lead service lines for customers.
Currently, crews are working in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood.
“Folks can replace them themselves if they want to get ahead of our program, but we know that is a financial burden," Easley said. "Our Lead Service Line Replacement Program gets us out in front of that and says we will come to your neighborhood, maybe not this year but years in the future, and we will take that opportunity to replace it for you and your neighbors at no additional cost."
In October, the utility company also published an informational portal online showing the type of service line for each property.
The inventory is based on visual inspections, historical records or the best available data.
Many addresses will be listed as “unknown.” Citizens expects the data to improve as crews confirm more service line types. That also means the number of annual notifications will also likely decrease each year.
Citizens Energy expects all letters to be delivered by the end of November.
You can find more information about the letter and Citizens Energy’s replacement program here.
Citizens Energy is reminding customers that there is no lead in the public water system. Water leaving the treatment facilities is tested and treated.