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Lead & Copper Water Treatment
The City of Glendale receives municipal water from the North Shore Water Commission. Please take time to review the links below on the lead and copper treatment process. If you have additional questions, please contact Eric Kiefer at ekiefer@northshorewc.com
Lead & Copper Control in the Distribution System
Background Info on Lead & Copper (video)
Water Service Line Material Inventory
Lead is not found in the City of Glendale’s source water, Lake Michigan, and it is not found in our treated drinking water. Lead may enter drinking water at a house or building if it dissolves from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing, especially when water stands unused for several hours. To prevent lead from dissolving into the water, the North Shore Water Commission adds phosphate that forms a protective coating inside pipes. This corrosion control protection has been provided by North Shore Water since 1996 to meet EPA standards.
Glendale has NO lead water mains and has been diligently removing lead service lines when identified. Glendale has only five lead service lines identified as of 2024.
Lead may also be found in home plumbing – in some solder used with older copper plumbing (before 1987) and in faucets and fittings of brass which contain some lead (prior to 2014). If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children.
See the service line inventory for a full listing of every service in the Utility and the service line material. The inventory was developed by reviewing the following sources:
- Plumbing Permits and Tap Cards: The City has detailed property records including plumbing permits and tap cards that detailed the service line material used at installation.
- Water System Records: DNR water main plan reviews were used to determine recent water main relays for public side service replacement or field verification of existing materials.
- Distribution System Inspections and Records: A combination of service line repair records, meter installation records, distribution system maps, and other records were reviewed for recorded material information.
- Lead Ban: The Federal Lead Ban of 1986 was used. Any service installed after 1986 is non-lead.
- Field Inspections: Utility staff are currently conducting a visual inspection of customer service lines entering a home if the service line material is currently unknown. To schedule an inspection, please call the Utility office at 414.228.1719
- General staff knowledge: this included institutional and anecdotal knowledge gathered from staff experience. No Utility employee has ever encountered a lead lateral in the Utility.