The water that leaves our plant in Scituate and travels through Providence Water’s mains is lead free, however, exposure to lead service lines can result in elevated lead levels at your tap.  Elevated lead levels can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children.  We recommend that you confirm the material of your service line and, if it is lead, have it removed.

Ownership of the service line that brings drinking water into your property is shared jointly between Providence Water and the property owner.  Providence Water owns the portion of the service line that runs from the water main in the street to the curb stop shutoff valve, which is generally located in the sidewalk near the curb or edge of the street pavement.  This portion of the service is referred to as the “Public Service Line.”  The property owner owns the portion of pipe that runs from the curb stop shutoff valve into the property/water meter.  This portion of the service line is referred to as the “Private Service Line”. 

To find out if your home has a public lead service line, simply go to the following link to our interactive lead service line location map: 

View Lead Service Location Map

There are several things that you can do on your own to check to see if you have a lead service coming into your home:

1. Locate your service pipe at the water meter. Scratch the service line with a coin. If you have a lead service line, the pipe will be a dull gray color. Our website has a video that demonstrates how to do this; simply go HERE to view the video.
    
2. Try attaching a magnet to your service line.  A magnet will not stick to a lead pipe.
    

If you do have a lead service line, Providence Water strongly encourages you to have it removed. We are now offering 10-year 0% interest loans to help homeowners replace their private lead service lines.  Providence Water will ensure that the public side of the lead service line is automatically replaced at no cost whenever the homeowner replaces his/her private side of the lead service line.

Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for young children and pregnant women.  It can cause damage to the brain and kidneys and can interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body.  To learn more information about the risks of lead and reducing lead exposure, visit the US Environmental Protection Agency website at www.epa.gov/lead.