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Lebanon Plumbers, home

Leak Detection & Pipes

Lead and Galvanized Service Line Replacement

If your water authority wrote to you, the buried run from the curb stop into your house is the part you have to deal with.

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What is included

What this service covers

What we actually do on this job, and what you can expect us to deal with while we are there.

  • Replacing the customer-owned lead or galvanized run from curb stop to house
  • Coordinating with the utility so both halves happen together
  • Trenchless pulling where excavation would damage hardscape
  • Replacing galvanized interior supply that is restricting flow
  • Reconnecting the meter, main shutoff and pressure regulator
  • Verifying pipe material where the utility's record says unknown

Signs to look for

You may need this if you are seeing any of these

  • A letter from your water authority about service line material
  • A dull grey pipe that scratches shiny silver and is not magnetic
  • Grey threaded pipe that a magnet sticks to firmly
  • Records showing your line material as unknown
  • Poor flow throughout a house with original galvanized supply
  • Buying or selling an older property with unverified pipe material

Why it happens

What usually causes it

01

The age of the connection

Lead service lines went in on connections made before the practice ended, so they concentrate in the older parts of the city and the borough cores rather than following the age of the house alone.

02

Galvanized downstream of lead

Galvanized steel that was ever fed by a lead line or lead gooseneck can absorb lead into its interior surface and keep releasing it afterwards, which is why inventories group it with lead.

03

Incomplete records

Utilities built their inventories from decades of patchy paperwork, so a large share of addresses came back as unknown. That is not a finding of lead, it means nobody has looked yet.

04

Federal replacement requirements

EPA rules require systems to inventory service lines, notify customers and replace lead ones, which is why letters went out across the county at the same time.

Our approach

How we handle this job

Specific to this work rather than a generic checklist bolted onto every page.

  1. 01

    Verify what you actually have

    We check the pipe where it enters the property and confirm the material, which resolves an unknown record without guesswork. If it turns out to be copper or plastic, we will tell you and there is nothing to do.

  2. 02

    Establish who is doing which half

    The utility replaces its side from the main to the curb stop. We contact them about scheduling so both halves can be done together rather than months apart.

  3. 03

    Replace the full private side

    Open excavation or a trenchless pull depending on the run, the ground and what is on the surface. What we will not do is replace part of a lead line and leave the rest.

  4. 04

    Reconnect, test and restore

    Meter, main shutoff and any pressure regulator reconnected, the system flushed thoroughly, and the surface reinstated.

Why letters went out across the county at once

Federal drinking water rules require every public water system to inventory what its service lines are made of, tell customers what the records show, and replace the lead ones. The EPA’s timeline for systems nationally is to identify and replace lead pipes within about ten years, with a duty to tell people where lead pipes are and when replacement is planned.

Building those inventories meant going through decades of patchy records, which is why so many letters say “unknown” rather than naming a material.

Locally, the City of Lebanon Authority, which supplies Lebanon city and a number of surrounding municipalities, completed its inventory and wrote to affected customers, publishing service line information so people can look up their own address. Other systems serving the county have run the same process on their own schedules.

Water samples in test tubes being checked with a digital meter at a kitchen sink

The half that is yours

Ownership splits at the curb stop, the shutoff buried near the curb or sidewalk. The utility owns the run from the main to that point. From there into the house is the property owner’s, which means the section under your own front yard is very often yours to deal with.

The utility replaces its side under the programme. Yours is the part that needs arranging, and it is the reason this page exists.

Perforated drain pipe and gravel laid in an open trench beside a house foundation

Full replacement, not partial

We will not cut into a lead line and leave the rest in the ground. Disturbing the interior scale of an old lead pipe can raise lead levels in the water for weeks afterwards, so a partial job can leave a household worse off than doing nothing.

That means talking to your water authority about when their half is scheduled, so both can happen together. It takes a little coordination and it is the correct way to do this work.

Before any of that, check your own pipe. Our guide to lead service lines in Lebanon County walks through the coin and magnet test and explains what the letter categories mean.

Questions

Lead service line replacement questions

Specific to this job. Every service page here has its own, none repeated.

General FAQ

Common questions

My water authority sent me a letter. Does that mean I have lead pipes?
Not necessarily. Utilities had to inventory every service line and write to customers whose line is lead, is a material that may contain lead such as galvanized steel or older brass, or whose material could not be determined from records. A large share of those letters fall into the unknown category, which simply means nobody has verified it yet. The letter tells you which category you are in.
Who pays to replace a lead service line, the utility or me?
A service line has two halves. The utility generally owns the run from the water main to the curb stop near the street, and the property owner owns the run from the curb stop into the house. Utilities replace their own half under the federal programme. The private half is normally the homeowner's responsibility, though some Pennsylvania utilities have programmes that cover or contribute to it. Ask your own supplier what applies at your address before you commission anything.
Can I just replace the part inside the house and leave the buried pipe?
We will not do that, and you should be wary of anyone who offers to. Cutting into a lead line and leaving the rest in the ground disturbs the scale inside it and can temporarily raise the amount of lead in your water, which is the opposite of the point. Public health guidance is full replacement of both halves, ideally on the same day. That is why coordinating with the utility matters more here than on an ordinary plumbing job.
How do I check the material myself?
Find where the water pipe enters the house, usually through the basement wall near the main shutoff, and look at the section on the street side of the meter. Scratch it gently with a coin and hold a magnet to it. Lead is soft, scratches to a bright silver like a pencil mark on foil, and is not magnetic. Galvanized stays dull grey when scratched and a magnet sticks firmly. Copper scratches to a bright penny colour. Our [full guide](/guides/lead-service-lines-in-lebanon-county/) covers it step by step.
Will replacing it dig up my whole yard?
Not necessarily. Open excavation is a trench from the curb stop to the foundation, which on the short front yards common in Lebanon city is often quick and straightforward. Where the run is longer, or where a driveway, mature planting or hardscaping sits over the line, a trenchless pull from a pit at each end usually leaves the surface intact. Ground conditions and what else is buried nearby decide which is practical.
Is there funding to help with the cost?
Pennsylvania does put significant money into lead line replacement, but it is awarded to water systems rather than paid to homeowners directly. What that means at your address depends entirely on which utility serves you and what their programme covers on the customer-owned side. That single phone call to your water authority is the most valuable thing you can do before spending anything.
I rent. Whose problem is this?
The service line belongs to the property owner, so replacing it is the landlord's decision and expense rather than the tenant's. The notification letter normally goes to the account holder and the property owner. You can still do the visual check yourself, and you can contact the water authority to ask what their records show for the address.

Related services

Where we cover for this

All service areas

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Need lead service line replacement in Lebanon County?

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