James Bruggers

The Courier-Journal

Some 7,700 Louisville Water Co. service lines are made of lead – and now for the first time, customers can quickly check to see whether those old pipes are made of lead.

A new look-up tool on the city-owned company's website was made available Thursday, said company spokeswoman Kelley Dearing Smith. Customers can go to the lead management program tab and enter their 10-digit account number. A message will display the lead status of those service lines, which connect water mains to the private service lines that are on customers' property.

The company's records are only for Louisville Water lines – not customer service lines or indoor plumbing.

The new tool comes amid a lead crisis in Flint, Mich., that has drawn widespread attention to the health effects of the neurotoxin in drinking water nationwide.

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A USA TODAY Network investigation published this week found that nationally, some 2,000 different U.S. drinking water systems had tap tests above the EPA’s “action level” limit of 15 parts per billion. The water company complies with federal lead standards, but health advocates are calling for tougher standards.

The Louisville Water Co. has 281,000 service lines in its distribution system, and those that are made of lead account for about 2.8 percent, the water company says. It has a plan to replace them all by 2025.

Smith said company officials started talking about the new look-up tool a few weeks ago. She called it "a next step in the ongoing customer communications effort, talking about the service line removal and the corrosion control that is critical to minimize risk of material in plumbing dissolving into the water."

Company customers with concerns about lead in their drinking water can get advice on its website, or they can call the company at 502-583-6610.

Reach reporter James Bruggers at (502) 582-4645 and at jbruggers@courier-journal.com.