Sacramento Service Line Inventory: Lead and Galvanized

What did the Sacramento service line inventory find?

The Sacramento-area inventories found no lead service lines, though several suppliers still list lines whose material is unknown. The City of Sacramento says it "has confirmed that there are no lead service lines or galvanized service lines requiring replacement" after its systemwide inventory, and its lead FAQ links a service line inventory map you can search by address.

The statewide picture matches. The State Water Board's service line data page (updated August 1, 2026) says that of nearly 10 million lines inventoried in California, no lead lines have been reported. About 12,000 lines were classed as galvanized requiring replacement, and some lines everywhere are still being sorted out.

Neighboring suppliers report the same headline. Sacramento Suburban Water District's 2025 report counts 46,571 lines with "no lead service lines". San Juan Water District says its survey, which included digging up 5,148 service lines, ended in July 2024 with no lead found, and its 2025 report says the same for Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks and Orange Vale. Golden State Water says its Cordova system has no lead or galvanized lines requiring replacement, "including any customer-owned service lines". Lead in solder, faucets and fittings inside the house is a separate question, covered under lead in tap water.

What is a galvanized line requiring replacement?

A galvanized line requiring replacement, or GRR, is a galvanized steel line that sits, or may once have sat, downstream of lead pipe. The State Water Board's definition covers a galvanized customer portion where the upstream portion is lead, was lead, is of unknown material, or cannot be shown never to have been lead. Galvanized pipe can take up lead from upstream and release it later.

Galvanized pipe on its own is not GRR. The state lists galvanized iron or steel "not needing replacement" as non-lead when nothing lead was ever upstream. Systems with records of installs after California's January 1, 1986 lead pipe ban, or lines 4 inches or wider, could classify those lines as non-lead without digging.

Which suppliers still list unknown lines?

Four supplier areas in the region still show unknown or unpublished line materials. An unknown line is not a lead line; the State Water Board's FAQ says systems must treat "lead status unknown" lines as if they were lead until identified and notify those customers every year.

West Sacramento's lead and copper page says the city mailed about 8,000 residents in older neighborhoods in December 2025 and plans to inspect a random share of unknown lines in 2026. Sacramento County Water Agency's Lead Assessment Program page says its inventory missed the October 2024 deadline, was completed in March 2026, and that customers with unknown lines were notified in April 2026. Rio Linda/Elverta's counts come from its 2024 inventory spreadsheet. Not sure who supplies your address? Start with which water district you are in.

How can you check the pipe at your meter?

You can usually see the service line where it enters the meter box at the curb or where it comes up into the house near the main shutoff. The State Water Board's inventory FAQ says customers may help with "scratch or magnet tests", and that a record and a photo are what a supplier needs to update its file.

EPA's Protect Your Tap check asks for only a coin or key and a magnet. A magnet sticks to galvanized steel but not to copper, lead or plastic, and a light scratch shows the color of the metal underneath. Look at pipe on the house side of the meter, not the meter body or its couplings.

1. Open the meter box lid with a screwdriver and look at the pipe entering on the house side.
2. Try a magnet on that pipe, then scratch a small spot with a key.
3. Photograph the pipe with the scratch and the magnet in view.
4. Send the photo through your supplier's form or map, if it has one. Roseville, Folsom and California American Water all ask for photos or survey answers.

A house first plumbed after January 1, 1986 is classed non-lead by date alone under California's ban, according to the same FAQ. Folsom tells owners of homes built after 1986 that its survey is not needed, and Roseville calls lead in those homes highly unlikely.

Who owns which part of the service line?

In most systems the supplier owns the pipe from the main to the meter, and the property owner owns the pipe from the meter to the house. The State Water Board describes this split and says inventories had to cover both sides. Plumbing inside the house is not part of the inventory at all.

The City of Sacramento's Onsite Design Manual (rev. September 1, 2026) says onsite water systems are "privately owned and maintained, up to the point of service", which the City places at the back of curb or back of sidewalk. Your bill and meter questions sit on Sacramento water bills and meters. If your side of the line is old galvanized pipe, a licensed plumber can tell you whether it is worth replacing for flow or leaks, separately from any lead question.

What does the federal lead rule change by 2027?

EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, issued October 8, 2024, require systems to replace lead and GRR lines within 10 years of the November 1, 2027 compliance date. EPA's public summary of the rule says the rule lowers the lead action level "from 15 µg/L to 10 µg/L" and has systems with lead lines sample the first and fifth liter at the tap. Reports print these units as ppb (µg/L) and ppm (mg/L); PFAS figures appear in ppt.

For a Sacramento home on a no-lead system, the visible change is mostly paperwork: updated inventories and, where lines are unknown, a yearly notice. The State Water Board expects California's roughly 12,000 GRR lines to be replaced over the decade after 2027. The other street-to-house questions, from water pressure to sewer laterals, are collected on the water lines hub.

Downstream questions

Further down the channel

• Folder: Sacramento water lines, pressure and laterals
• Treatment: Lead in Sacramento tap water
• Supply: Finding your water district
• Supply: How to read a water quality report