The Town of Hillsborough is working to identify the materials for all service lines connected to the town’s water system and may need your help.  The Environmental Protection Agency is requiring that water service providers complete the inventory due to changes to the federal lead and copper rule.  

Houses and Buildings Built Before 1987

Lead was prohibited for use in new water lines and in water line repairs after June 1986.  

The Utilities Department needs help identifying the water service line material of homes and buildings built before 1987.  

• Please check the town’s Water Service Line Map to see if your building’s service line is marked as unknown. 
• If the town does not have information about the customer side of your water service line — the right side of the circle denoting the service line on the map — please determine the material for your pipe and complete the Water Service Line Material Form. The map and form are available on the town’s Lead and Drinking Water page.
• When completing the form, attach documentation of your service line material and any repairs made to the service line after 1986 for homes or buildings built before 1987. Documentation also could be a photo or a past home inspection report.

How to Determine Your Service Line Material 

To identify the material of your service line, check inspection reports for your home or building. Another way to identify the material is to physically inspect the pipes. Service line pipes may be accessible where the pipe enters the home through a basement or crawl space wall or floor. The pipe is under 2 inches in diameter and should be tested where it enters the building.

Photos of pipes and instructions on how to conduct visual, scratch and magnet tests are available on the town’s Identify Your Service Line Material page. Lead pipes are a dull, silver-gray color and are easily scratched with a coin. Magnets will not cling to lead.

Utility-Owned Service Lines

The Utilities Department is continuing to identify the materials in utility-owned service lines. The lines are indicated on the left side of circles on the inventory map. Please be patient. The town has a lot of old plumbing and few past paper records.  

Letters Sent

Water customers with homes or buildings listed as having unknown pipes on the utility- or customer-owned side have received a letter stating the material needs to be verified. Please help the town determine the customer-owned material by following the directions provided in the letter and in this news release.  

The letters include information about the health risks of exposure to lead. The town has not found any lead pipes and does not have records or historical accounts of lead being used as a material for town lines.  

The town mailed about 3,000 letters last year and 2,800 letters this month. No information is needed from customers who do not receive a letter. However, water customers can check the status of their property on the Water Service Line Map.