Burton Water Co-op Customer Water Line Service Survey

Burton Water Cooperative Customer:

We are required by the Washington Department of Health (WDOH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to complete an inventory of the pipe material throughout our water system, both for the main distribution system (Co-op owned) as well as individual service lines (customer-owned). The intent of the inventory is to identify the prevalence of lead service lines (i.e., pipes made of lead material) throughout the system. This is a requirement for all water systems throughout the country – it’s not something we alone are being required to do. 

We have a good handle on the pipe material throughout the main distribution system (and none of it, to our knowledge, contains lead). However, we have limited information on the approximately 415 customer-owned (i.e., your) service lines. We’re asking for your help to provide any information you may have regarding the pipe material of your individual service line by completing an online survey. A link to the survey is included at the end of this email.

We’ll need to complete a site inspection of a certain number (20%) of all service lines that remain “Unknown” after this exercise. We’re trying to minimize the number of those site inspections (because they take time and are therefore costly for our staff to complete) so it’s important to hear from you as soon as possible.

Before completing the survey, you will need to determine where your water service line is and how it connects to your home. Your customer-owned service line runs from your meter (usually located near the edge of your property) to your house. To locate where the water service line enters your home, look for a water meter and shut-off valve. These are usually found at the front of your property near the street and are ground-level boxes labeled "water" or "meter." Once you find them, follow the shortest path to your home. The water service line should enter the building through the floor or foundation wall.

Once you've found where the water service line enters your home, look for a spot on the pipe closest to the wall or floor before it connects to a valve or meter. At this spot, you can test the material the pipe is made of. It is important to identify the pipe entering your home, not the inside plumbing. 

We do not need to know the material of the pipe that is physically located within your home for this survey but we encourage you to understand what your interior pipes are made of; there is a small chance that they may contain lead and, if so, we encourage you to consider replacing them with another material.

Use the following tools to determine the type of pipe material the water service line is made of.

• Magnet—use to test if the pipe is made of steel or iron. 

• Screwdriver or coin—use to scratch the pipe to reveal the metal’s color and hardness and tap for sound.

• Flashlight or mobile phone—light to clearly see the pipe.

Common service line pipe materials include:

• Plastic—This pipe comes in different materials and colors and may include PVC (white plastic), HDPE (black poly), or PEX (blue, white, or red). Plastic pipe may have labeling on it and does not make a ringing sound when tapped with a coin or screwdriver.

• Galvanized Steel or Iron—Dull silver/grey and may be rusty. Scratch Test. If the scraped area remains a dull gray, the pipe is galvanized steel. Magnet Test: A magnet sticks to a galvanized pipe. Tapping Test: Tapping a galvanized pipe with a coin or screwdriver will produce a metallic ringing noise.

• Copper—Shiny or dull reddish-brown/orange color. Scratch Test: If the scraped area is copper in color, like a penny, the pipe is copper. Magnet Test: A magnet will not stick to a copper pipe. Tapping Test: Tapping a copper pipe with a coin or screwdriver will produce a metallic ringing noise. Copper service lines are less common than plastic or galvanized steel, but possible.

• Lead—Scratch Test: Easily scratched. If the scraped area is shiny and silver, the pipe may be lead. Magnet Test: A magnet will not stick to a lead pipe. Tapping Test: Tapping a lead pipe with a coin or screwdriver will produce a dull noise. Lead service lines are very unlikely, but possible. It was illegal to install lead water supply lines after 1986.

Additional information on Lead Service Lines can be found on EPA’s website here.  If you need help finding your service line or determining your pipe material, contact Nick Simmons at (206) 775-5667.

The survey form is available here. Please respond  before the end of this month (December 2025). 

Thanks for your help

-Your Burton Water Cooperative Board