Osceola Water Works is focused on providing safe drinking water and protecting the health of every household in our community.
In the coming days, some residents of the City of Osceola will receive a notification regarding their existing water pipe (called a service line) that connects the home, building or other structure to the water main. This notification is being issued to property owners and tenants to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. As part of the requirements of the 1986 Congressional Safe Drinking Water Act – Lead Ban, the Federal Government banned the installation of new lead pipes in 1986. The Federal Government anticipates up to nine million homes and businesses still have lead-containing pipe materials connected to the public water system.
The City of Osceola is one of those communities with lead containing pipes. In 2021, EPA revised the Lead and Copper Rule requiring communities to identify and inventory water pipes with lead containing materials. Over the past year, Osceola Water Works has gathered information on the age and pipe materials for both residential and commercial properties within our community. The first step of this process was to create an inventory of service line materials in the Osceola distribution system. Osceola Water Works staff worked diligently reviewing historical data, and completed the inventory.
“We’re looking at an inventory of potential lead lines in the ballpark of more than 280 throughout the City of Osceola,” said Brandon Patterson, Osceola Water Works Superintendent.
The tenants and property owners occupying the dwellings identified in the inventory will receive one of the following three notifications: Notice of Confirmed Lead Service Line, Notice of Galvanized Service Line that is or was Downstream of a Lead Service Line, or Notice of Unknown Service Line Material. While no immediate action is required to be taken by property owners at this time, the Federal Government will require replacement of the lead-containing service lines within the next 10 years.
Osceola Water Works is working to create a replacement plan and to identify the material of the service lines indicated as unknown. Affected tenants and occupying property owners will receive annual notifications about their lead service lines, galvanized service lines, or unknown service lines until they are either replaced or identified in the distribution system.
“Our next step as a Utility is to develop a plan to identify the materials of the service lines that are unknown and to develop a lead service line replacement plan,” said Patterson.
As the data is evaluated and replacement plans are developed, the Osceola Water Works team will make sure customers are fully updated on the next steps in this process.
If you have questions or would like more information about the lead line research being done by Osceola Water Works, please contact the Osceola Water Works offices at 208 West Jefferson Street, PO Box 515, Osceola, IA 50213, Phone: 641-342-1435 or email: osceolawater2@windstream.net.