EPA’s Revised Lead and Copper Rule

Virginia Beach Public Utilities is committed to protecting public health by providing clean, reliable drinking water to our customers.

In compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) revised Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), every drinking water system in the country is required to prepare an inventory of all public and private water service line materials in their service area in an effort to identify and remove any lead materials from the water distribution system.

To prepare the inventory, Virginia Beach Public Utilities is researching historical records of service line materials and plumbing code requirements at the time of the property’s construction, applying representative sampling to determine the service line material, and performing excavations on each side of the property’s water meter to visually verify the service line material. You may see crews in your neighborhood!

To check the service lines, our contractor will dig a roughly ten-inch hole on each side of the water meter and confirm the service line material. The area will be restored once the work is complete. Customers will receive a door hanger notice one week in advance if visual inspections are occurring at their property.

To date, no lead water service lines have been found in Virginia Beach’s water distribution system.

Water Service Line Information

Protecting drinking water from lead sources is the shared responsibility of Virginia Beach Public Utilities and the property owner. 

The public side of the service line is from the water main up to and including the water meter and is the responsibility of Virginia Beach Public Utilities. The private side of the service line is from the water meter to the dwelling/building and is the responsibility of the property owner.