FAQs

Water Service Line Testing

• How much will this project cost?

  The City has hired North Cascade Excavating to perform this work on 350 customers at a cost of $198,715.

• What if my service line is found to contain lead?

  The EPA has published a goal to require public drinking water providers to replace all water service lines containing lead by 2034.  The results of this inventory will be used by the City to prioritize any future work to replace service lines.

• What if the work causes damage to my property?

  The contractor will use appropriate care to ensure minimal disruption to the area necessary to complete the work, and is required to return the area as near as possible to it’s original condition.  The contractor will also be taking “before” and “after” photos of each site.  Impacted properties are encouraged to take their own pictures, with a time/date-stamp, of the area surrounding the meter box prior to work beginning.

• What is the City doing to my water line?

  A contractor hired by the City is digging down to expose the line directly in front of and directly behind the water meter. Once the line is exposed, they will perform a scratch test and a magnetism test to determine the type of material the pipe is made of.

• What will be done with this information?

  The City is required to supply this information to the EPA no later than October 1, 2024.

• Why is my line being tested, but not my neighbor’s?

  The EPA is allowing cities to use a statistically valid sample of all water service connections which were installed prior to 1986. In Hermiston that equates to approximately 3,000 connections. From those accounts, 350 customers were selected utilizing a computer-based random number generator. This method provides EPA with an acceptable understanding of the prevalence of different types of service line materials in our community while containing costs.

• Why is the city testing my pipe?

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required all public drinking water systems in the United States to conduct these tests in order to develop an inventory of materials present in water service lines. Specifically, the test will show how many service lines may contain lead.

• Will I be informed of the results of these tests?

  Upon completion of the inventory, a customer may, upon request and verification of customer identity, receive the results of the test for their home.

• How long will it take to return my property to its original condition?

  It usually takes about a week once the contractor starts to complete the testing and return the property to its original condition.