Lead & Galvanized Service Line Identification & Replacement Program
In July 2021, New Jersey enacted P.L.2021, Ch.183, requiring all community water systems to inventory the service lines in their area and, if any lead or galvanized service lines (essentially steel pipe coated in zinc) are found, cause them to be replaced within 10 years with copper or plastic pipes.
In compliance with the federal government’s “Lead and Copper” rule, first promulgated in 1991, the Borough has tested for lead in water in selected residents’ homes for many years, and the results have not indicated a problem with lead. Nevertheless, this new State law requires us to investigate each property in the Borough and confirm the composition of its water service line. Thus, we will be conducting targeted field examinations of the service line at many homes in town.
A water service line is the pipe that connects a building (e.g., your house) to the public water main. In Essex Fells, most of a service line is privately owned. The Borough owns the portion of pipe between the water main and the curb stop at the edge of the street. The property owner owns the remainder of the service line, from the curb stop to the water meter. Although property owners are generally responsible for the installation, maintenance and any replacement of the private portion of their service line, this new law in New Jersey provides an exception to that rule. Accordingly, if your service line is confirmed to contain lead or galvanized steel, by 2031 the Borough is required to either replace the line or confirm that the property owner has done so.
Based on the records available to us, the public portion of the water system does not have lead service lines or components, but does have some galvanized connections – which are also covered by the State law.
The service line materials on the property owner side are less certain, because those lines were privately installed. We expect some may be galvanized, however, based solely on our knowledge of what common industry practices were at the time that certain properties in town were initially developed.
We have completed an initial inventory of properties serviced by the Essex Fells Water Department, to identify those where the service line must be inspected to verify its composition. The inventory can be accessed by clicking on the “Lead Service Inventory” button at the bottom of this page. To search for your property within the inventory, click on the magnifying glass in the upper left of the document (or press Ctrl + F) and enter your address in the search box.
Please note that this inventory is preliminary, and is only intended to identify properties where, based on the age of the home, additional information is needed. Based at this point only on our understanding of construction practices at the time each home was built, the inventory assumes that properties initially developed before 1950 may have galvanized lines or components (these are marked with a “G” in the inventory, meaning potentially galvanized), and that houses constructed after 1960 have copper service lines (identified with a “C”). Properties developed between 1950 and 1960 are currently listed as “UL”, meaning unknown, because industry practice was transitioning from galvanized to copper pipe throughout that decade.
We expect that many properties listed as having “potentially galvanized” or “unknown” service lines have had their plumbing modified after 1960, and upgraded their service lines to copper – in which case no replacement would be necessary. The field examinations will confirm this and the Borough’s service line inventory will be periodically updated to reflect those results.
If your property is listed in the inventory with a “G” in the column entitled “Service Line Category,” the Borough will notify you by certified mail in August regarding the need to inspect your home service line.
Date distributed: July 22, 2022 - View & Print Official Description
Lead Service Inventory - July 2025
Hilltop Lead Service Inventory - July 2025
User-Friendly Essex Fells Service Line Inventory – July 2024 (Sorted by Street)
Lead Service Inventory - July 2024
Hilltop Lead Service Inventory - July 2024
User-Friendly Essex Fells Service Line Inventory – July 2023 (Sorted by Street)
Lead Service Inventory - July 2023
Hilltop Lead Service Inventory - July 2023
Lead Service Inventory - February 2023 (NJDEP-Form)