Odessa Utilities Department taking inventory of water service lines to comply with EPA

ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- In compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Odessa’s Utilities Department is taking inventory of all the city’s water service lines and now offers a website for residents to check their lines status which will be categorized as non-lead, lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or lead status unknown.

On Monday, September 30, the City of Odessa released a public notice that said, “As part of our ongoing efforts to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations as noted under 40 CFR 141.84(a)(4), we are conducting a thorough inventory of the city’s water service lines.”

Alex Rowlett, Interim Director of Utilities said that the utilities department is still in the process of identifying the service lines, which could fall into one of the following categories:

• Non-Lead: The service line is not lead or galvanized and can be classified based on visual confirmation, pipe diameter, or lead ban date
• Galvanized Requiring Replacement (GRR): The service line is galvanized and was or is downstream of a lead service line
• Lead: The service line is made of lead
• Lead status unknown: The service line material is unknown or has not yet been determined through documented evidence

According to the City of Odessa’s lead service line dashboard, there are a total of 42,593 service lines to test. Rowlett said that so far, a little over 17,000 of the lines have been documented, with no lead-confirmed service lines. however, 106 customer sites and 40 utility connections from the city were found to be galvanized.

Galvanized pipes are steel pipes dipped in a zinc coating, which stopped being done in the 1980s after it was discovered that galvanizing pipes result in lead poisoning. Rowlett said that “any service lines that were placed after July 1st, 1988 will not be affected by lead or galvanized, Texas banned those types of materials to be used for service lines.”

According to officials, the inventory process is ongoing, meaning not all service lines have been identified. On the Lead Service Line Dashboard, there are a total of 25,419 unverified service lines and 24,411 unknown service lines. Rowlett said that while the lines remain unknown, it is recommended that residents purchase a filter until it is verified that there are no lead/galvanized pipes.

“If your house is unknown or your customer site is unknown, then it is recommended that you do purchase a filter as of right now,” Rowlett said. “As we continually do these inventories of these lines, it will be updated in the system. So if it does come to a point where it does push you to the non-lead or anything to that nature, then you will be able to quit using your filter.”

According to the EPA’s website, the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water is set at zero by the EPA because lead is a powerful neurotoxin that can be harmful to human health even at low levels. Exposure to lead can cause damage to the brain and kidneys, and interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body. The greatest risk of lead exposure, however, is to infants, young children, and pregnant women.

The City of Odessa released the following recommended actions for residents to take if they are concerned about lead in their drinking water:

• Use your filter properly: If you use a filter, it should be certified to remove lead.
• Read any directions provided with the filter to learn how to properly install, maintain, and use your cartridge and when to replace it. Using the cartridge after it has expired can make it less effective at removing lead.
• Do not run hot water through the filter.
• Regularly remove and clean your faucet’s screen (also known as an aerator). Sediment, debris, and lead particles can collect in your aerator. If lead particles are caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water.
• Use cold water. Do not use hot water from the tap for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula as lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Boiling water does not remove lead from water.
• Get your child tested to determine lead levels in their blood.

To see your home’s service line status, visit the City of Odessa’s lead service line dashboard website .

Rowlett said that once the city is done with the first phase of the regulations, it will look into federal reserves and help citizens replace the lines that need it.

“We don’t have a process yet. We will be putting corrective action plans for the city side. we’ll also be putting something together, which the regulations come out in 2027, for us to provide something to the EPA on how we will process the utility side. And then how we will help the customers by using those federal dollars that they’re able to give us to replace these service lines.”

Rowlett said that although the inventory process is ongoing, the utilities department is making daily efforts. “We do have a full-time crew that works six days a week, Monday through Saturday. And they can hit anywhere from 200 to 300 service lines in a day.” Rowlett said. “So we are working, the map is updated every single day. I just want to let everybody know that we’re doing the best we can and as fast as we can to get that inventory for you guys.”

For more information on reducing lead exposure from your drinking water and the health effects of lead, visit the EPA’s website, or click here .

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