GOLF MANOR (4/29/2019) –The Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) has initiated a long-term effort to remove all lead water service lines from the water system. Disturbance of lead lines is known to increase the risk of lead entering water, and the only way to eliminate this risk is through full replacement of the lead line. This includes the portion on the private owner’s property, as well as the public portion, in the street.

To help make replacement more affordable, the GCWW has worked with the Village of Golf Manor to implement an assessment financing program to allow owners of Golf Manor property who participate in the LSLRP to pay off the owner’s share of the replacement cost over five or ten years as a semi-annual assessment to their property tax bill at 0% interest.

Information on the replacement program can be found here.

Water mains installed throughout the Village are the property of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) along with the service connections that run from the water main to each individual property line. This is the “public” side of the water system and GCWW has the whole responsibility to maintain, repair and replace these portions of the water system when necessary.

Water service line sections from the property line into the home are the “private” side of the system where the property owner has the whole responsibility to maintain, repair and replace these portions of the water system when necessary.

In recent years, GCWW has determined that either side of the service line (public or private) may have been constructed with the use of lead, including brass fittings, faucets and solder used on the private side. GCWW treats the water to contain lead leaching from the minimal number of lead pipes in their system. As a result, lead contaminants are usually not a problem unless the water pipes made of lead are disturbed through construction or replacement.

The GCWW has developed a strategy and a program which has been in place for many years to reduce the risk of lead in drinking water. Residents can obtain a free water testing kit from GCWW to test their water to see if there is any lead content. Lead test kits are available from GCWW by visiting here.

In the event that water mains are replaced or disturbed, GCWW is responsible for replacing lead water pipes on the public side, while each property owner is responsible for replacing lead water pipes and other lead-containing components on the private side. At the current time, there are no planned water main projects scheduled for the Village and residents will be notified when and if a project is scheduled.

GCWW is now mobilizing its Lead Service Line Replacement Program (LSLRP), and work has begun to replace full lead service lines with copper as part of some scheduled water main replacement projects. Moving forward with the implementation of the LSLRP, the GCWW is asking its customers to identify the risk of lead in private service lines and home plumbing systems.  To assist its customers, the LSLRP has incorporated instructions on how to test a service line and report the results. More information can be found on the Greater Cincinnati Water Works Lead Awareness page: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/water/lead-information/

For your convenience, an interactive, searchable map of all properties of which GCWW has water pipe records has been provided here. With this map, you can determine what GCWW believes to be the status of both your public and private water pipes.

Additional information on the Village’s lead water pipe communication is here.