lead service pipes

Press Release:

Village of Oakfield Department of Public Works is asking residents of both the Village and Town of Oakfield to provide information on their drinking water service lines. If you have already responded to this survey, please disregard this notice. 

As part of the new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lead and copper rule revision, the Village of Oakfield DPW is required to collect an inventory from their water customers with details on the material that their water service lines are made of. 

This is where members of the public can support this important public health work by responding promptly to our survey. 

The DPW has provided information on how their residents can do a “Scratch Test” on their service line to determine the material. 

How to Determine Service Line Material: 

All you need is a screwdriver and a magnet.

Conducting a SCRATCH TEST

1. Find the water service line in your home, this will be a pipe entering your home and attached before the water meter.
2. Use the flat side of a screwdriver to scratch the surface of the service line.

4 Type of Materials

• COPPER- if surface area is shiny or copper color (like a penny). Magnet will NOT stick.
• GALVANIZED STEEL - if scratched, area remains a dull gray (very hard and not easily scratched). Magnet WILL stick.
• PLASTIC- typically black or blue, the scratched surface remains the same color as the pipe itself. Magnet will NOT stick.
• LEAD - if the scratched area is shiny and silver. Lead pipes are softer and easier to scratch than Copper or Galvanized Steel. Magnet will NOT stick. 

Residents of the Village and Town of Oakfield can respond with their results in multiple ways: 

• Go to the Village’s website https://oakfield.govoffice.com and complete the online survey under WATER LINE SURVEY 
• Complete the Survey form found in your July newsletters, and return to the Village Office, 37 Main St., Oakfield.
• Call the Village office, (585) 948-5862 with the information or to set up an appointment for our DPW to come to your home and check the line for you. 

It’s that easy.

The EPA is requiring responses in October. The Village DPW is hopeful that our residents can respond timely, and we can wrap this up by September.

The DPW may leave a reminder card with those residents that do not respond by July. 

Inspections by the DPW can also be scheduled.

“This is a requirement under the EPA, we are only asking for water service line information. This is the line that runs from the main water line in the street to your home. We really want to make this as simple as possible for our residents to respond. We are here to help.” DPW Supervisor Mikolajczyk said.

“We really thank the residents for responding quickly and helping with this momentous task. We have been monitoring and attending several informational meetings on what actions will be taken pending the results of this inventory survey.”

Press Release:

The City of Batavia continues to seek funding to address aging water infrastructure and lead service lines across the City.

Currently the City has applied for three separate different water related grants including:

1. A Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant for a $4.17 M project to replace two aging water lines including the Cohocton and Walnut.
2. A Congressional Direct Funding request submitted to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Congresswoman Tenney for a $3.4 M project to replace aging water lines on Pearl Street.
3. Filed an Intended Use Plan (IUP) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) funding request through Federal BIL Funding for the replacement of 900 lead service lines across the City of Batavia.

“The City is dedicated to improving our water system and making necessary repairs on infrastructure to reduce the amount of annual loss of water in the system and remove lead lines from the City. We have had discussions with County, State, and Federal representatives regarding the importance of these projects and look forward to a positive result related to our grant applications,” said Rachael Tabelski, City of Batavia City Manager.

The City of Batavia tracks lost water within our water system and currently in 2023 we lost approximately 23% of water produced at the Batavia Water Plant. This is defined as leakage. Leakage is water lost during transmission between the Batavia Water Plant and the individual meters at customer locations.

“The City conducts leak reports periodically to identify issues with City water transmission lines as a proactive measure to maintaining our water system. The leak report, along with Water Department field work, help the City identify water lines that need repair and replacement,” said Brett Frank, Director of Public Works.

As the City identifies aging and problematic water lines, they are placed into the City’s strategic capital plan and the cost to replace and repair is identified. The City then works to budget for the replacement of water lines through capital reserves and pursues grant funding for these projects.

In the past two years, the City has replaced water lines on Bank St. and Jackson St. which were identified as problematic based on leaks and breaks. Other water line improvements since 2017 include Harvester Ave., Richmond Ave., Union St., South Main St., Brooklyn Ave., and Summit St.

“Batavia is like many industrial North Eastern City’s with aging infrastructure and water loss attributed to aging infrastructure.  We continue to plan for, and execute on projects that will improve the system and reduce the lost water.  We are encouraged from the support we are receiving on grants for these projects to lower the burden on City residents,” said Tabelski.

According to the EPA, National studies indicate that, on average, 14 percent of water treated by water systems is lost to leaks. Some water systems have reported water losses exceeding 60 percent. Accounting for water and minimizing water loss are critical functions for any water utility that wants to be sustainable.