What is the City of Lakewood doing to Replace Lead City-Owned Service Lines?

Replace Lead Lines

As the City of Lakewood is replacing watermains and completing other infrastructure projects, the City is also replacing all lead city-owned service lines with copper service lines. There are no lead watermains in Lakewood.  In 2019, city-owned services lines will be replaced on Lake Avenue from Webb to Belle and Lakewood Heights Boulevard from Riverside to McKinley.

Lead Testing

The City of Lakewood conducts water lead-level testing in accordance with state policies. Testing will be conducted in 2019 beginning June 1^st through September 30^th, 2019. The tests are completed at the required number of 30 different households and  include homes with lead city-owned service lines or lead customer-owned service lines. The results of the tests are included in the annual water quality report.  The previous years water quality report is available prior to July 1 of the following year.

System-wide Sampling

In addition to lead service line testing, The City of Lakewood does its own system wide sampling. This information is also collected in the annual water quality report. If Lakewood finds that there are any issues during system wide sampling, we will work with the Cleveland Water treatment facilities to determine a course of action necessary to make the proper adjustments to the water chemistry.

In order to prevent lead exposure,  Cleveland Water is adds the chemical orthophosphate to the water during the treatment process.  This chemical “forms protective coating inside the water mains, service lines, your home’s plumbing, and faucets regardless of the material type and age.  This prevents water from coming in contact with the metal, reducing the likelihood of lead dissolving into the water. To learn more about what Cleveland is doing to prevent lead exposure and replace lead service lines, visit http://www.clevelandwater.com/your-water/infrastructure-projects.