The Pell City Utilities Department announced today, Sept. 24, 2024, that it has completed its Federally mandated review of all service lines ahead of schedule, and that no lead pipes were located within the service area.
The news should be comforting, as lead within a water system is proven to be a dangerous health issue. Utilities Superintendent James Hadaway said residents should feel at ease after his department’s thorough review.
The team of Pell City Utilities Department employees, led by Superintendent James Hadaway (left), spent two years inspecting approximately 6,000 service connections in the City of Pell City’s water system.
“The fact that we do not have any lead service lines within our system shows this Department and this City are committed to the safety of our citizens,” Hadaway said. “We are proud to make this announcement.”
Pell City Utilities began its review of service lines in 2022. The project was mandated as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2021 revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) made in response to the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The LCR revision required that all public water service systems were to complete an inventory within three years, with the mandatory reporting date being set on Oct. 16, 2024. Over the course of two years, Pell City Utilities employees investigated all 5,991 service lines to comply with the requirements.
“It required us to work on this project nearly every day, but it was worth it to be able to report this news,” Hadaway said.
Residents can review the Department’s summary report to the EPA here, and view the service line material classifications for individual addresses here.
