Plumbing and faucets
Your plumbing and faucets can be sources of lead.
Lead service lines
- A service line is the water pipe that connects the water main on your street to the piping inside of your home.
- It connects to the stop box on the exterior of your home. We use the stop box to turn your water on or off without entering your home.
- In Minneapolis, service lines installed before 1930 usually used lead piping.
- The part that extends from the water main to the stop box is lead.
- The part that connects the stop box to the water meter is usually galvanized steel.
You're responsible for your service line
- Property owners are responsible for maintaining water service lines.
- You cannot repair lead service lines. You can only replace them.
- To find out if your service line is lead, contact Water Distribution.
Corrosion
We take many steps to prevent pipe corrosion.
We follow of Department of Health guidelines, including:
- Adding a chemical called ortho polyphosphate to your water.
- This chemical prevents water line corrosion.
- We maintain an ortho phosphate concentration of 0.4 parts per million.
- Reducing the acidity of the water from the Mississippi River.
- We maintain a pH of 8.8 to 9.0 to keep the water from being corrosive.
Read the Minnesota Department of Health's 2019 report on eliminating lead in drinking water
Contact us
Public Works Water Treatment & Distribution Services
Address
4300 Marshall St. NE
Fridley, MN 55421
This building is closed to the public.