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.

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