Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR)

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply.  The law was amended in 1986 and again in 1996 which requires many actions to protect drinking water and its sources—rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells.  The SDWA authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. In 1991, the US EPA implemented the Lead and Copper Rule to protect communities from risk associated with lead exposure. The EPA released the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) in 2021, and additional revisions in 2023, that were aimed at reducing exposure to lead in the nation’s water supplies and impacts all water utilities across the United States.

Lead and copper customer portal

How to use the Lead and Copper Customer Portal

  1. Type in your property address in the search bar located in the top left corner.
  2. Once the address is selected, window will appear with your property's water service line material information.

Coral Springs Lead Service Line Inventory 

What does Coral Springs do to comply with this rule?

The City of Coral Springs Water Utility (City) is committed to providing you with clean, safe, and reliable drinking water that consistently meets or exceeds all state and federal water quality requirements. We are also committed to maintaining our record of compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule.

This commitment includes:

  • Continuously monitoring and sampling our water system to ensure the water is safe to drink and complies with all federal and state standards.
  • Maintaining approved treatment standards historically shown to minimize lead exposure.
  • Conducting regularly scheduled Lead and Copper monitoring events. Note: Results from these monitoring events are routinely published in our systems annual “Consumer Confidence Reports”.
  • Providing education and awareness resources to help our community stay informed about the risk associated with potential lead exposure. 
  • Meeting the new LCRR compliance requirements by proactively working to identify all drinking water service line materials throughout our distribution system and preparing a Service Line Inventory (SLI) in accordance with the new EPA regulations. 

As part of the EPA’s LCRR and our system’s ongoing commitment to reduce lead exposure in drinking water, we are actively reviewing historical water service line records to produce a comprehensive service line Inventory.  From our efforts, the city has managed to identify 100% of the City-owned portion of our service lines.  We continue to identify customer-owned portions of service lines.

What is a service line?

A service line is a pipe that carries water to your home or business from the city’s water main, which is typically located in or near the street. The portion of the service line from the water main to the meter that is located within the public right of way is owned and maintained by the city. The service line from the meter to the house or building is owned and maintained by the property owner.  See example below:

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What is lead?

Lead is a naturally occurring metal that may be found in the crust of the earth. Throughout history, people have utilized lead, as it has proven beneficial for a wide range of uses.  Items such as batteries, pipes, fishing weights, and some kinds of paint are among the more commonly known uses that may contain Lead.  People who work in certain jobs, like construction, battery manufacturing, or stained-glass work, might encounter lead.

Why does this matter?

Lead can get into drinking water when service lines or plumbing materials that contain lead corrode. Lead was commonly used for service lines components in the first half of the 20th century and was used in household plumbing fixtures and solder until lead solder was banned in the 1980s. Until legislation passed in 2014, “lead-free” plumbing could be up to 8 percent lead. Current standards for “lead-free” fixtures allow for no more than 0.25 percent of lead content.

Lead and drinking water

The top priority of the City of Coral Springs is to deliver clean, safe, dependable water to our approximately 68,000 customers. When water leaves the city’s water treatment plant, it is lead-free. The larger water mains in the street that transport water from the treatment plant are made mostly of iron or plastic and do not add lead to the drinking water. However, in certain situations, lead can leach into the drinking water from the plumbing inside a home or business or from remnant service lines made of lead. 

In accordance with all Federal and State regulations, the city maintains corrosion control standards designed to prevent leaching of lead from interior plumbing and lead service lines. This process has been used for more than 30 years, and sampling results continue to show that it is effective. 

EPA’s recent revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule places a new emphasis on identifying and replacing remnant lead piping and fixtures, expanding testing for lead in water, and enhancing public education and awareness.

What are the health effects of lead?

Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems.

In children, low levels of exposure to lead have been associated with damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter height, impaired hearing, and impaired blood cell formation and function. Lead can also cross the placental barrier, exposing the fetus to lead, and causing reduced growth and premature birth.

For more information regarding lead and health, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Flushing your service line

Lead molecules dissolve in water that sits in contact with lead plumbing materials. If water in your home or business’s plumbing has sat unused for an extended period (such as at night, while you’re sleeping), it can contain higher lead levels. Flushing your water tap can help you avoid these higher exposures.

Procedure: From a tap that is normally used to collect water for consumption or cooking, open the faucet to run the cold water for approximately 3 - 5 minutes before using the water.  This simple procedure will greatly reduce your risk of exposure.

How can I test water quality in my home?

Since you cannot see, taste, or smell lead dissolved in water, testing is the only sure way of telling whether there are harmful amounts of lead in your drinking water. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or at the EPA website. A list of state certified laboratories can be found on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website.

For questions concerning your privately owned service line and ways you can determine what your service line material is.  You may contact the City of Coral Springs Water Treatment Plant via email at WaterplantLCRR@coralsprings.gov .

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