Citizens Energy Group has started mailing letters to Indianapolis-area customers who own or may own water service lines made of lead.
The notifications are part of an ongoing effort to protect public health and comply with federal regulations.
A service line connects a home or building to the public water main and is typically owned by the property owner. Many homes built before 1950 in Central Indiana were constructed with lead service lines. Citizens estimates more than 70,000 customers may still have lead pipes connected to their homes or buildings.
The mailings are required under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. Citizens must send the letters every year until the service line is confirmed to be non-lead or has been replaced. The utility company also maintains an online database where customers can check the status of their service line.
While water leaving Citizens treatment facilities does not contain lead and public water mains are lead-free, individual customer-owned service lines or interior plumbing may still contain lead or lead components. Citizens treats the water to reduce corrosion, which helps limit the chance of lead leaching into drinking water.
Citizens is also continuing its Lead Service Line Replacement Program, which launched in 2022 with approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Under the program, construction crews replace lead service lines at no cost to customers. More than 4,000 lines have been replaced so far, with work ongoing in neighborhoods across Indianapolis.
The goal of the program is to identify and replace every lead service line in the Citizens service area.
Customers can check their service line status and learn more about lead exposure prevention by visiting citizensenergygroup.com/lead.
This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights. https://iaaqli.org/
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
