Help Winston-Salem ensure safe water with these steps

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — Your tap water could be exposing you to lead.

That’s why Winston-Salem is encouraging residents to “Get the Lead Out” with the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent campaign, which aims to “accelerate the removal of lead pipes where it’s needed most and help connect more communities to historic federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ,” the website states.

According to a news release, the EPA is requiring all public water utilities in the nation to identify the material of every service line in their system to locate any lead pipes that may remain underground. Now, the city is asking all residential and commercial customers to help meet the EPA’s new rules by self-reporting. WSFC Utilities staff are unable to enter private property.

Your private service line is the underground pipe running from the water meter to the shutoff valve, generally located inside your home or business. To get started, visit cityofws.org/pipes and click on the online Customer Service Line Inventory.

The release states that this is a national identification requirement, even for those who know they don’t have lead pipes.

Forms should be submitted by August 30. The process should take less than 15 minutes to complete with your smartphone or tablet.

Read the full notice here.

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