Lead Water Service Lines in Georgia: How to Check Yours

Why your utility keeps a lead service line inventory

EPA's 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions required water systems to inventory every service line, including the customer's part, by October 16, 2024 and to make the inventory public (40 CFR 141.84, July 2024 version). The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), finalized in October 2024, apply from November 1, 2027 (40 CFR 141.80); most utilities then have 10 years to replace the lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines under their control and to identify every unknown line (40 CFR 141.84).

As of October 4, 2026, EPA has not changed those deadlines or proposed to. Its rule page still describes the 10-year replacement requirement (EPA), and its August 2026 tips for water systems still give November 1, 2027 for an updated "baseline" inventory and December 31, 2037 for most systems to identify all unknown lines (EPA). The American Water Works Association's challenge to the rule was argued in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on September 30, 2026, and was undecided when this guide was written (court docket).

How to look up your address

Your water bill names your provider (Fulton County). Large metro Atlanta utilities have address lookups:

• Atlanta: Georgia EPD's statewide dashboard (Atlanta DWM).
• DeKalb County: the "Check Your Line" map (DeKalb).
• Gwinnett County: an inventory map with address search (Gwinnett DWR).
• Cobb County Water System: a mapped inventory (Cobb County).
• Fulton County: an inventory and a self-report portal (same Fulton page).
• Clayton and Henry counties: a public portal (CCWA) and an address map (HCWA).

Elsewhere, try Georgia EPD's Service Line Inventory Public Transparency Dashboard. It searches by address and, where a system hasn't opted in, tells you to contact the utility.

Still nothing? Your annual water quality report must say how to see the inventory, and only systems serving more than 50,000 people must post it online (40 CFR 141.84(a)(8) to (10), July 2024 version). Buford's 2025 report, for example, sends customers to City Hall (City of Buford). A public inventory may give a block instead of an exact address and needn't locate unknown lines.

What the inventory categories mean

Each line, or each owner's part of it, falls into one of four federal categories (40 CFR 141.84(a)(4), July 2024 version):

Table sources: the federal rule and EPA's Protect Your Tap and lead basics pages.

Georgia adds a fifth label, galvanized not requiring replacement, for galvanized pipe shown never to have been downstream of lead (Georgia EPD). Cartersville's 2024 inventory, for example, lists the utility's part, the owner's part and an overall category (Cartersville). Under EPD's rules, lead on either side makes the whole line lead, and a non-lead part paired with an unknown part leaves it unknown.

Check the pipe where it enters your house

EPA's Protect Your Tap guide needs only a coin or key and a magnet:

1. Find the water meter: in a basement, crawlspace or garage, or outside in the yard or near the sidewalk.
2. Find where the line comes in: nearest an outdoor meter or on the same wall as an indoor one; otherwise along the outside walls, especially facing the street, usually with a valve on it. DeKalb suggests tracing a pipe back from the water heater (DeKalb FAQ).
3. Scratch gently with the coin or key near where the pipe comes through.
4. Hold a magnet to it.

Table sources: EPA Protect Your Tap and DeKalb County's identification sheet.

This shows only your end of the line; the buried run and the utility's part can differ. Send the utility your result and a photo, as Georgia EPD recommends (EPD manual, linked above); Cobb's online form takes an upload (Cobb County). From November 1, 2027, a utility told its category is wrong must offer within 30 days to inspect (40 CFR 141.84(b)(4)).

If your line is listed as lead, galvanized or unknown

Notices. Utilities must notify people served by lead, GRR or unknown lines, by mail or another state-approved method, within 30 days of finishing the inventory and then yearly until the line leaves those categories (40 CFR 141.85(e), July 2024 version). Georgia EPD set the first deadline at November 15, 2024 and also allows bill inserts, hand delivery and email (Georgia EPD). Notices give the category, lead's health effects and ways to cut exposure; lead-line notices add replacement and financing information.

Inspections. Atlanta, which says it hasn't found any lead lines so far, inspects lead, GRR and unknown lines once the owner signs a right-of-entry form, and sends yearly notices until the line is confirmed non-lead or replaced (Atlanta DWM). Fulton County mails yearly letters for lead and unknown lines and offers a right-of-entry form, though its contractor inspects only some properties (Fulton County).

Replacement programs. EPA tells owners of lead lines to join the utility's replacement program (EPA). Under the LCRI, every utility with lead, GRR or unknown lines needs a public replacement plan by November 1, 2027, posted online if it serves more than 50,000 people (40 CFR 141.84(c)).

Who owns which part of the line

It depends on the utility; Georgia EPD's model notice says ownership varies and is usually split between the utility and the customer (Georgia EPD). In DeKalb, Atlanta, Cobb, Gwinnett and Henry County, the utility's part runs from the main to the meter and the owner's from the meter to the house (DeKalb; Atlanta; Cobb; Gwinnett; Henry). The main water line guide lists each city's rule.

Reduce lead exposure while you wait

• Use cold water for drinking, cooking and baby formula; hot tap water can carry more lead, and boiling doesn't remove it (EPA; CDC).
• Run the water after it has sat for hours; a shower, laundry or dishes count. EPA says to ask your utility, since the time depends on your line: Atlanta suggests 15 to 30 seconds (Atlanta DWM), DeKalb about three to five minutes after six hours unused (DeKalb FAQ).
• Use a filter certified to reduce lead. CDC says to look for NSF/ANSI standard 53 for lead and 42 for particulates; replace cartridges on time and keep hot water out of the filter (EPA).
• Clean faucet aerators regularly, because lead particles can collect in them (EPA).
• Mind digging nearby. Construction can release more lead from a lead line (EPA).

Bathing and showering should be safe, since skin doesn't absorb lead in water (EPA). Only testing shows for sure whether your tap water has lead; your utility or the state can list certified labs. If you're worried about exposure, ask a family doctor, a pediatrician or your county health department about a blood lead test, which CDC calls the best way to tell (CDC). This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice; your water utility, a licensed plumber and a doctor or the health department can advise on your own situation.

Replacing the part of the line you own

1. Talk to the utility first about its program and timing. Georgia lead-line notices must say the utility is required to replace its part when the owner tells it they're replacing theirs, unless its part is already non-lead (Georgia EPD). From November 1, 2027, where state or local rules don't prevent owner replacements, a utility told about the work must replace the rest at the same time or generally within 45 days (40 CFR 141.84(f)).
2. Hire a licensed plumber and get a permit from your city or county building department; Marietta, for example, requires one for all plumbing work, water supply included (Marietta). The metro Atlanta directory lists each city's permit office, and how to hire a drain cleaning company in Georgia shows how to check a license.
3. Ask for lead-free materials. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, lead-free pipes, fittings and fixtures contain a weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead, and solder no more than 0.2% (EPA).
4. Flush and report. CDC says exposure risk rises during the work and for up to six months after (CDC). When a utility fully replaces a lead or GRR line under the LCRI, it must give flushing instructions, a filter certified to reduce lead with six months of cartridges, and an offer of a follow-up tap test (40 CFR 141.84(h)). Report your new pipe so the utility's inventory changes.

Frequently asked questions

Does a non-lead listing mean my water has no lead?

Not necessarily; the inventory covers the service line, not faucets, fittings or solder inside. The Henry County Water Authority says it can't confirm your interior plumbing (HCWA), and Atlanta suggests having a plumber check plumbing installed before 1990.

Why would a newer house be listed as unknown?

Unknown means no evidence yet, not a lead finding. Georgia EPD lets utilities call lines installed on or after January 1, 1990 non-lead only with documentation (Georgia EPD), and EPA's August 2026 tips describe settling unknowns with records, inspections and statistical models (EPA). Fulton County says owner reports speed that up.

Who pays to replace a lead service line in Georgia?

It varies. The LCRI doesn't set who pays for the owner's part; if law or rate agreements let a utility charge customers, its plan must say whether and how it will help those who can't pay (40 CFR 141.84(c)). DeKalb says the customer's cost is under review, and Atlanta says eligible customers will get information about possible funding (Atlanta DWM).

Do I have to replace a lead line on my side?

DeKalb says it isn't required by law or by the county, though it can reduce exposure (DeKalb FAQ). Under the LCRI, a utility that needs your consent must make at least four attempts, by at least two methods; if you decline, it needn't replace the line, but it must offer again to a new owner within six months of a sale (40 CFR 141.84(d)(3)).

Next step

Look up your address today on your utility's map or Georgia EPD's dashboard. If it shows lead, galvanized requiring replacement or unknown, check the pipe where it enters the house, send the utility a photo, and drink cold, flushed water or water from a filter certified to reduce lead until the line is confirmed non-lead or replaced.