IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER SERVICE LINES

Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre su agua potable.

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As required by U.S. EPA, Burney Water District has identified that your water service connection is considered a lead status unknown service line.

The Burney Water District recently applied for a Lead Service Line Inventory Grant to identify materials of water service lines in the District, which is the pipe that connects your home, building, or other structure to the water main.  The purpose of the inventory is to identify the material of these service lines and fittings, including the customer-owned side of the water service line.

The pipe that connects your home, building, or other structure to the water main was identified as a service line of unknown material. Lead service lines or certain galvanized pipe can potentially place you at risk for exposure to lead; therefore, a representative sampling of service lines in the system will be inventoried and this inventory will be submitted to the State and once completed available to the Public. If the line is determined to be lead or other material deemed necessary to replace, this line will need to be replaced.

The Burney Water District routinely monitors for lead in the distribution system and the most recent water sample results received on August 7 and 16, 2024 showed that the 90th percentile of all lead levels measured in the distribution system was 0.87 µg/L.  The action level for lead in drinking water is 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or 15 micrograms per liter (µg/L). The most recent water sample results do not exceed the action level of 0.015 mg/L for lead.

Is my water affected?

* If you received a separate notice instructing you to not drink, boil, or avoid drinking your water, then please continue following those instructions until you are instructed to do otherwise.

If you did not receive any separate notice:

• This is not an emergency.
•  Your water is safe to drink and meets federal and state safe drinking water standards.
• You do not need to use an alternative water supply (e.g., bottled water).

What about my service line?

• If your service line is categorized as a lead status unknown composition, you can help your public water system identify your service line material.
  • EPA has developed an online step-by-step guide to help people identify lead pipes in their homes called Protect Your Tap: A Quick Check for Lead. (https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead)
  • Other organizations have also provided tools to identify service line material, such as the LSLR Collaborative (https://www.lslr-collaborative.org/identifying-service-line-material.html)
• Inform us immediately if you plan to alter or replace your service line because we may be required to replace the system portion.
• Please contact us immediately if you feel that we have incorrectly categorized the service line material.

Contact Burney Water District at 1(530) 335-3582 or DZevely@burneywater.org to inform us if your service line has been incorrectly categorized to share any information you may find about your service line, or to inform us of your plans to alter or replace your service line.

What happens next?

When funding is obtained, the proposed Lead Service Line Inventory Project would complete vacuum excavation (potholing) of 235 water service types on both the District’s side and the customer’s side of the service.  The meters all have pig tails such that verification of service line type inside the meter box is not possible.  However, verification via vacuum excavation will take place just beyond the edge of each side of the meter in previously disturbed areas.  If the inventory indicates lead service lines are present, additional funding will be applied for to replace said service lines.  If no lead service lines are identified, the District will have met Division of Drinking Water requirements, and the effort will be complete.

We anticipate completing the Lead Service Line Inventory within six months of receiving grant funding. This may be expedited if you plan to alter or replace the water service line on your property at an earlier time because we may be able to identify the service line material at that time.

Lead Related Health Information

•  Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can cause new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems.
• If you have concerns about your water quality, the State Water Board’s Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program has a map of laboratories that can test your water at the consumer’s expense, which can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/labs/
• If you still have health concerns from potential lead exposure in your drinking water, there are point-of-use (POU) devices that can be used on your drinking water taps to provide an additional barrier of protection. A list of these residential treatment devices can be found at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/device/watertreatmentdevices.html
• If you have other health issues concerning the consumption of this water, you may wish to consult your health care provider.

Additional Resources

To replace lead or galvanized requiring replacement service lines, to verify the material of an unknown service line, for information on financial programs to assist with service line replacements or for any other information, contact DFA-LSLR@waterboards.ca.gov and/or visit Lead Service Line Replacement Funding Program | California State Water Quality Control Board.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this public notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

This notice is being sent to you by Burney Water District

State Water System Number: CA45100003

Date distributed: December 2025