PAWC canvassing in Dilliner district looking to identify types of water service lines
Pennsylvania American Water is beginning door-to-door canvassing outreach in the company’s Greene County Dilliner service area to assist nearly 1,200 customers in identifying the material of their home’s water service line.
If a service line is identified as lead or galvanized steel, Pennsylvania American Water will work with the customer to replace the line at no direct cost to them.
A water service line is a pipe that connects a home or business to the water main in the street. Pennsylvania American Water owns a portion of the service line, typically from the main to the curb stop, found near the street curb or sidewalk. The property owner owns the rest of the service line from curbstop all the way into the house or building being served, which is why customer participation in this program is important.
The door‑to‑door outreach will be conducted by CDM Smith, which is Pennsylvania American Water’s service line inventory contractor. All representatives will carry official company photo identification badges and wear high-visibility vests bearing company logos.
This outreach is currently underway in Perry Township, and once completed there, the canvassing will move into Cumberland, Dunkard, Greene, Monongahela and Whitley townships. Canvassing in the area is expected to be completed in these areas in the fall.
“Customer involvement makes this work possible,” Pennsylvania American Water Vice President of Operations Jim Runzer said. “Our goal is to catalog the material type of customers’ service lines to safeguard the quality of water for our customers.”
The outreach efforts are part of the company’s lead service line replacement program, supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which require all water utilities to identify and make public the materials that both company-owned and customer-owned service lines are made of to address and minimize exposure of lead in drinking water.