Lead Protection Program

Since January 2023, the City of Greeley has been inspecting and replacing water service lines that contain lead or have been classified as Galvanized Requiring Replacement—for free.

As of January 6, the city has identified the water service line material on 2,100 properties. The project is currently in Phase 4 and will begin conducting visual inspections of water service lines in Spring 2026 in Phase 5 for the rest of the city. Homes built before 1940 have the highest risk of having lead pipes.

Homes from the 1960s have a medium risk, and those built after 1981 have no risk of lead pipes.

The City of Greeley gave a presentation at the American Water Works Association's (AWWA) 2025 Annual Conference and Exposition in Denver about its communications campaign to promote the city's Lead Protection Program. AWWA selected Greeley's presentation out of 2,200 submissions.

The presentation emphasized how clear, inclusive, and transparent communications strengthen public trust and encourages community participation—ultimately protecting public health and reinforcing Greeley’s long-term water quality goals.

Greeley Water and Sewer took advantage of work being done on the 16th Street Enhancement Project to replace lead pipes and meters to avoid having to go back in later to do the work.

The 16th Street Enhancement Project aims to slow traffic, improve safety and parking, make a pedestrian-friendly community space, create connection between the University of Northern Colorado and downtown and improve the corridor’s look.

Water utilities must inform consumers about the materials of their water service lines, particularly if they contain lead or if the material is unknown. These notifications must clearly state if the service line is made of lead, is a galvanized line needing replacement (GRR) or if the material is unknown but may contain lead.

The initial notifications must be sent within 30 days after completing the initial inventory, but no earlier than October 16, 2024. Water systems are required to issue these notices annually.

These notifications can stop once the entire service line is verified to no longer contain lead, is identified as GRR, or when the material is confirmed.

What's the Status of Your Water Service Line?

As shown in the diagram, the city owns the water service line that runs from the public water main to the property line. The customer owns the water service line, which may include the curb stop and water meter, that runs from the property line into their house.

While the city maintains records of service line material for most of the public-side services in the distribution system, there is limited information for the service line material on the customer-owned portions of the system.

The City of Greeley teamed up with JGR Consult, Inc. to increase the number of inspections being done to determine water service line material in homes. Conducting a visual inspection of a service line costs about $500 per property. Having residents schedule an appointment with a contractor to complete the inspection for them saved the city thousands of dollars in potholing costs.

The City of Greeley encourages residents who live in houses built before 1960 to complete a short questionnaire about their service line if they haven't done so already. Residents can find the questionnaire at GreeleyCO.gov/LeadSurvey.

The plumbing in many homes built in Greeley before 1940 used lead piping to transport drinking water. The City of Greeley is identifying those water service lines that contain lead and removing them, for free! The city’s chosen contractor is working through the city’s older neighborhoods and sending residents a letter to schedule a free visual service line test. To learn more about the project, go to GreeleyCO.gov/leadprotection.

Replacing water service lines that contain lead or are Galvanized Requiring Replacement isn't limited to houses. In January 2024, the City of Greeley conducted potholing operations along the 9th Street Plaza to determine if service lines needed to be replaced.

The City of Greeley partnered with 120Water to provide water pitcher filters and replacement filters to customers scheduled to have their water service line replaced. Greeley Water provides the filters for free for up to six months following the service line replacement.

Mid City Corporation submitted a proposal to the City of Greeley to perform potholing operations to help identify the material of water service lines. Potholing involves creating small holes using pressurized water and a vacuum to perform a visual inspection of the water service line.