As required by U.S. EPA, Rio Linda Elverta Community Water District has identified that your water service connection is considered a lead status unknown service line.

The Rio Linda Elverta Community Water District recently conducted an inventory of all District Owned water service lines, which is the pipe that connects your water service from the water main to the meter. The purpose of the inventory is to identify the material of these service lines and fittings, including the customer-owned side of the water service line.  All District owned water lines were determined to be non-lead.

The pipe that connects your water service from the meter to your home was identified as an unknown material according to the guidelines for reporting. This portion of water service is on your private property.  Lead service lines or certain galvanized pipe can potentially place you at risk for exposure to lead. Therefore, your service line material, between the meter and your home, will need to be identified.

The Rio Linda Elverta Community Water District routinely monitors for lead in the distribution system and the most recent water sample results received in August 2023 showed that the 90th percentile of all lead levels measured in the distribution system was:

ND (Non-Detect, no lead detection)

The action level for lead in drinking water is 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or 15 micrograms per liter (µg/L).

The most recent water sample results do not exceed the action level of 0.015 mg/L for lead.

Is my water affected?

If you did not receive any separate notice:

• This is not an emergency.

·         Your water is safe to drink and meets federal and state safe drinking water standards.

• You do not need to use an alternative water supply (e.g., bottled water).

What about my service line?

• Because your service line is categorized as a lead status unknown composition, you can help your public water system identify your service line material.
  • EPA has developed an online step-by-step guide to help people identify lead pipes in their homes called Protect Your Tap: A Quick Check for Lead. (https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead)
  • Other organizations have also provided tools to identify service line material, such as the LSLR Collaborative (https://www.lslr-collaborative.org/identifying-service-line-material.html)
• The California Senate added Section 300.6 to the Health and Safety Code to ban the use of lead solder and lead pipe in public water systems after 1985.  Let us know if your service line was installed after 1985.
• Inform us immediately if you plan to alter or replace your private service line (between your home and the meter) because we may be required to replace the District owned portion.
• Please contact us immediately if you feel that we have incorrectly categorized the service line material.

Contact Rio Linda Elverta Community Water District at 916-991-1000 or questions@rlecwd.com to inform us if your service line has been incorrectly categorized to share any information you may find about your service line, or to inform us of your plans to alter or replace your service line.

What happens next?

The District will begin field inspections at the customer side of the meter for homes built before 1986.  These field inspections may consist of shovel excavations immediately downstream of the meter, within Sacramento County Right-of-Way.  The District is not permitted to access private property without the owner’s consent.

We anticipate identifying your service line by December 31, 2027.

Lead Related Health Information

·         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 cause 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.

·         If you have concerns about your water quality, the State Water Board’s Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program has a map of laboratories that can test your water at the consumer’s expense, which can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/labs/

• If you still have health concerns from potential lead exposure in your drinking water, there are point-of-use (POU) devices that can be used on your drinking water taps to provide an additional barrier of protection. A list of these residential treatment devices can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/device/watertreatmentdevices.html

·         If you have other health issues concerning the consumption of this water, you may wish to consult your health care provider.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this public notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

This notice is being sent to you by Rio Linda Elverta Community Water District

State Water System Number: CA3410018

Date distributed: 11/15/2024