Notice - Water Service Letters Received
Regarding Water Service Letters Received
If you received a letter about your water service material, this notice is intended for you.
The Ripon Water Department was mandated by the EPA to send out three separate letters, all issued by the EPA, concerning the water service lines in the city.
- A letter to all known properties with lead or partial lead services,
- A letter to all properties known to have galvanized water lines and,
- A letter to properties where we do not have complete information the water service material is unknown.
We have received several concerned responses regarding the letter about unknown materials. Much of the content of the letter is designed by the EPA to encourage a response from property owners. While there may be a small number of properties with lead, the vast majority do not. We are simply informing you that we do not have complete records regarding the material of your water service line. As with the Lead Information pamphlets you’ve received in previous years, we want to reassure you that there are no lead or other high levels of contaminants in our water system. Our main concern about lead in the water is limited to a small number of homes with lead in their service materials.
As mentioned in the letter you recently received, if your property was built after 1950, it is unlikely that your water service contains lead. However, the City does not have records of the materials used on the property owner’s side of the water service. If you know the material of your water service pipe, please contact the City by filling out this form: www.cityofripon.com/servicelinematerialform.
CLICK HERE to access our Service Material Inventory. This allows you to view the information we have on file about your water service, as well as any missing details. If you’ve recently provided updated information, it may not yet be reflected in our records.
Additionally, our website includes a link to the annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which provides detailed information about the City’s water, the tests we conduct, and the results.
For a more in-depth look at our test results, visit this link: https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/dwsportalpub. This will take you to the Wisconsin DNR’s public water systems portal, where you can explore our testing history, results, and additional information. The portal also allows you to view results from previous years and offers more detailed options for our testing.
Below are simple instructions on how to find and determine what the water material is.
How To Find Your Water Service In Your House
The first step is to locate your water meter, which is typically found in the basement where the water service enters the property. It is usually located near the outside wall closest to the road, though this may vary. The water meter is connected to the service pipe that brings water into the property. Once you locate the service pipe, take note of its color.
- Copper – Brown to orange in color, scratching it should make it look like a new penny color, typically ¾” in diameter.
- Plastic – Black or blue in color, typically a larger pipe, 1” to 1.25” in diameter
- Galvanized Iron – Gray to silver in color. When scratched it doesn’t get shiny. Magnets will stick to this pipe.
- Lead – Dull gray, when scratched it will turn very shiny. Magnets don’t stick to lead
