Water Service Line Pipe Inventory

UPDATE

As of December 18, 2025, our inventory includes 0 lead lines, 0 galvanized lines needing replacement, 1,725 lines with unknown material, and 962 non-lead lines. 

We'd still appreciate hearing from you if you haven't completed the survey yet! Your input is essential to helping us ensure the most accurate inventory possible. Please visit cityofardenhills.org/PipeSurvey to complete the survey.  

Lead Service Line Inventory Survey

The City of Arden Hills is taking action to keep our community safe by working to reduce lead exposure in the water system. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires municipalities to conduct an inventory by September 30, 2024, of water service lines with the goal of reducing lead in the water system. 

A water service line is the pipe that connects the water main to your home or building inlet. Service lines may be made of copper or other materials such as galvanized iron or steel, plastic, brass, or lead. If any portion of the pipe is made of lead, it is called a lead service line (LSL).

The City of Arden Hills is asking its utility customers to take a survey by September 30 to help create an inventory of all water service lines in its system. There is no safe level of lead, and developing a lead service line inventory is the first step toward replacing any lead service lines in the City’s water system. This survey will ask customers to identify the material type of their water service line.

Take the survey button

To help people identify lead service lines in their homes, the EPA provides an online interactive guide called Protect Your Tap: A Quick Check for Lead. This guide includes pictures, step-by-step directions, and additional resources.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Amy LaMere at servicelineinventory@cityofardenhills.org or 651-792-7814.

Why Lead is a Problem

Lead is a common metal found in many places.

  • Air
  • Soil
  • Household dust
  • Water
  • Consumer products
  • Food
  • Pottery
  • Pewter
  • Lead-based paint

Lead can build up in the body if breathed in or swallowed. If too much lead enters the body, it can hurt the brain, nervous system, red blood cells, and kidneys. Children, infants, and pregnant women are at greater risk.

Visual Scratch Testing

Lead is a dull gray color and very soft. If scraped with a key, it will turn a bright silver color. Even a powerful magnet will not stick to lead.

  • Lead - a dull, silver-gray color that is easily scratched with a coin. Use a magnet to test. Strong magnets will not cling to lead pipes.
  • Copper - the color of a copper penny.
  • Galvanized Steel - a dull, silver-gray color. Use a magnet to test. Strong magnets will typically cling to galvanized pipes.
  • Plastic - white, rigid pipe that is joined to water supply piping with a clamp.

Types of Pipes

Resources

 The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently revised its drinking water standards related to lead and copper. The revised requirements protect our public health to an even greater degree by reducing exposure to lead in drinking water.