Lead and Copper Program

Lead and Copper Rule Revisions Service Line Inventory Compliance (Due Date October 16, 2024)

Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory (6.79 MB, August 4, 2022, 816-B-22-001)

Lead and Copper Service Line Inventory Template (1.53 MB, August 4, 2022)

On August 4, 2022, EPA released Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory to support water systems with their efforts to develop inventories and to provide states with needed information for oversight and reporting to EPA. The guidance provides essential information to help water systems comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions requirement to prepare and maintain an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024. Specifically, EPA’s Lead Service Line Inventory guidance:

• Provides best practices for inventory development and communicating information to the public.
• Includes a template for water systems, states, and Tribes to use or adapt to create their own inventory.
• Contains case studies on developing, reviewing, and communicating about inventories.
• Highlights the importance of prioritizing inventory development in disadvantaged communities and where children live and play.

EPA is harmonizing regulatory requirements with unprecedented funding through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make rapid progress on removing harmful lead from America’s drinking water. 

To find out more about funding opportunities for projects related to the Lead and Copper Rule revisions, please visit the Water Infrastructure Projects and Funding page.

Lead and Copper Rule Revisions

Lead and Copper Rule Revisions Helpful Links:

• Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 141, loads most current version, Subpart I - Control of Lead and Copper
• EPA, December 2021, Stronger Protections from Lead in Drinking Water: Next Steps for the Lead and Copper Rule
• EPA, December 2020, Reference Guide for Public Water Systems Lead and Copper Rule Comparison
• Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), February 2022,  Lead Service Line Inventory Symposium
• The New Lead and Copper Rule - LCR overview_fact_sheet_12-21-2020 (epa.gov)

Lead and Copper Rule Revisions NMED DWB Guidance

Guidance #1- Summary of Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)

Guidance #2 - DWB Service Line Inventory Guidance

Risk Associated with Lead in Drinking Water

The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree that there is no known safe blood-level of lead for children.  Adults with kidney problems or high blood pressure can be affected by low levels of lead more than healthy adults. Pregnant women, infants and young children are most at risk from exposure to lead.

• EPA Basic Information
• EPA Learn About Lead
• CDC Basic Information
• New Mexico Department of Health Basic Information

Monitoring Overview

• EPA Lead and Copper Rule – A Quick Reference Guide
• EPA Lead and Copper Rule – A Quick Reference Guide for Schools and Child Care Facilities

LCR Reminder Letters

• 2022 LCR Reminder Letters to NTNC water systems (6M Schedule)
• 2022 LCR Reminder Letter to NTNC (Annual and Triennial Schedules)
• 2022 LCR Reminder Letter to Community Water Systems (6M Schedules)
• 2022 LCR Reminder Letter Community Water Systems (Annual and Triennial Schedules)

Public Notice Forms – notify customers within 30 days of receipt of sample analysis

• New Mexico Consumer Notice of Tap Water Results form
• New Mexico Verification of Lead Consumer Notice Issuance form

Response to Lead and Copper Action Level Exceedances

The action level for lead is 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L) and the action level for copper is 1.3 mg/L.  If a public water system’s lead and/or copper 90th percentile monitoring results exceed the LCR action levels, the public water system is required to do the following:

• perform water quality parameter (WQP) monitoring
• determine the corrosivity of the water flowing through the water system’s distribution system
• distribute Public Education (PE) material (lead action level exceedances only)

Public Education Materials

• Lead PE Materials – Community Public Water System
• Lead PE Materials – Non-Transient Non-Community Public Water System

Corrosion Control Treatment (CCT)

• EPA OCCT Evaluation Technical Recommendations
• EPA CCT Memo
• EPA OCCT Evaluation Template: Population less than or equal to 50K
• EPA OCCT Evaluation Template: Population more than 50K

Information for Schools and Day Care Facilities

Children age six and under as well as pregnant women are most vulnerable to the health impacts of lead in drinking water. NMDOH and NMED DWB collaborated to develop a guidance document for schools and facilities that serve water to children under six years of age to be able to test for lead levels and reduce the concentration once identified.

New Mexico Guide to Reducing Lead in Drinking Water: Schools and Day Care Facilities

2022-Department of Health Lead Results for Schools and Day Cares

2023-Department of Health Lead Results for Schools and Day Cares

For more information contact: drinking.water@env.nm.gov

EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule protects children and communities from the risks of lead exposure by better protecting children at schools and child care facilities, getting the lead out of our nation’s drinking water, and empowering communities through information. Improvements under the new rule include:

• Using science-based testing protocols to find more sources of lead in drinking water.
• Establishing a trigger level to jumpstart mitigation earlier and in more communities.
• Driving more and complete lead service line replacements.
• For the first time, requiring testing in schools and childcare facilities.
• Requiring water systems to identify and make public the locations of lead service lines

For more information visit the Federal Register visit https://www.regulations.gov:  Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0300.