The City of Lawton is asking residents to help with an effort to inventory all waterlines throughout the city.
The action is in response to recent regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requiring all Public Water Supply (PWS) systems to develop a comprehensive Lead Service Line Inventory (LSI) of publicly-owned and customer-owned water service lines.
The process to inventory publicly owned lines already has begun. City officials are working with the Comanche County Tax Assessor’s Office to identify homes built and service lines installed before 1991, which are connected to City of Lawton water meters. The year 1991 is significant because it marks the adoption of plumbing codes in Lawton that restrict the use of lead in plumbing fixtures.
Additionally, the city is identifying lines during the ongoing waterline replacements underway throughout Lawton.
City officials said the challenge is that many customer-owned service lines, typically installed by private plumbers, are not recorded by the city. That is why the Public Utilities Department is providing a survey to residents to assist in collecting data.
The survey can be found at https://arcg.is/0nCSvD, with details to walk residents through the process of checking their service lines to determine the material of the pipe. The Public Utilities Department also is developing a Lead/Galvanized Replacement Program to assist residents who find their service lines are composed of lead or galvanized steel.
In addition, the City of Lawton is offering free lead testing for residents to ensure there is no lead content in their water above the action limit set by the EPA. Information is available by calling the water treatment plant, (580) 529-2703 and asking for a chemist or lab tech.
Information about the EPA’s regulations is available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/revised-508_lcrr-compliance-fact-sheet_4.17.24.pdf
City officials must send the initial reports to the EPA by Oct. 16.
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