Checking and Reporting Your Water Service Line Material

Take the following steps to check and report your water service line material. Customers are highly encouraged to self-report with photographs although it is not mandatory. If your water service line is unknown, the City will follow up as part of their test hole program or other water service line material investigation.

What you need:

• House key, coin, flathead screwdriver, or paint scraper
• Strong refrigerator magnet

Steps to check your water service line:

1. Go outside and find where your water service line enters your home. This could be through the wall at the front, side, or back of your house or through the floor in the crawl space underneath your home. If you cannot find the water line, it may enter your home under the slab, which may not be visible.
2. Pull back the insulation around your water service line.
3. If your pipe is smooth and red, blue, white, or black, the pipe is plastic. A magnet will not stick to a plastic pipe.
4. If your pipe appears to be another material, follow the steps below:

• Use the house key or coin to carefully scratch the pipe surface.
• Compare the scratched area to the following descriptions:
  • If it looks shiny and silver, the pipe is lead. A magnet will not stick to a lead pipe.
  • If it is a dull gray color with no noticeable scratch on the surface, the pipe is galvanized steel. A magnet will stick to a galvanized steel pipe.
  • If it is the same color as a penny, the pipe is copper. A magnet will not stick to a copper pipe.
  • If the scratched surface of the pipe is shiny and the color of gold, the pipe is brass. A magnet will not stick to a brass pipe.

5. Report your water service line material using the form linked here.