Water Services
General Education
Water service lines are small pipes that carry water from the City of Tamarac’s water mains into individual homes and other buildings.
The City of Tamarac is responsible for the service line from the city’s water main to the city’s meter box at the property line. The property owner is responsible for the service line from the city’s meter box to the building.
Service lines can be made of lead, galvanized steel, high density polyethylene (HDPE), PVC, brass, copper, cast iron or ductile iron.
Lead was commonly used for water service lines until 1960 and in household plumbing fixtures and solder until 1986, when it was banned. From 1986 to 2014, plumbing fixtures could have up to 8% lead to be categorized as “lead free.” However, current standards for “lead free” fixtures allow no more than 0.25% lead content.
Many homes and buildings, especially those built before 1986, may have service lines and/or internal plumbing and fixtures that are made of or contain lead.
Lead can be found in paint, ceramics, pipes and plumbing materials, solders, gasoline, batteries, and cosmetics. Plumbing fixtures (faucets, valves, fittings, etc.) and indoor copper plumbing pipes can also contain lead solder.
Lead Safety Information
All lead exposure has risks. Therefore, there is no safe level of lead.
When water leaves the water treatment plant, it is clean and lead-free. The underground distribution system that transports water from the treatment plant do not contain lead or add lead to the drinking water. Lead can potentially get into drinking water from the service line between the water main and your home or from the lead solder used in the plumbing inside your home. When water sits in the service line or your home plumbing without being used for several hours, the lead could potentially dissolve into the water.
If you think you have lead solder, flush your system by running cold water for about 5 minutes whenever the water in your home has not been used for more than 6 hours. A licensed plumber can also replace pipes that have lead solder with lead-free pipes.
Yes! You can buy a National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) 53-certified water filtration system, which can be installed at the faucet, or a filter pitcher that will remove lead. A water filter installed at the faucet will remove lead that may have entered the water from the service line, indoor plumbing, and plumbing fixtures. Visit this website for more information about NSF filters and a list of certified filters.
Lead Service Line Replacement
The City of Tamarac has been reviewing all available records, including, construction records, plumbing codes, water system records, distribution system inspection and service records, water main project records, etc., and are actively field verifying service lines throughout the distribution system. The City will continue this effort until all service lines throughout the distribution system are identified. In addition, the City participates in the Federally mandated lead and copper sampling program and reports test results received from a Certified Laboratory to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). So far, no lead or GRR lines have been found in Tamarac’s distribution system. If lead and/or GRR service lines are found within the City’s distribution system, a Replacement Plan will be implemented to replace such lines as quickly as possible and before the Federal deadline of 2034.
If you find a lead service line on your property, please report this to the City of Tamarac’s Public Services Department immediately. Contact information is given on the “Contact Us” page. Customers are responsible for the service line on their property and will need to contact a licensed plumber or contractor to have that line replaced. Customers who replace a lead service line on their property should also notify the City of the plans to replace and the completion of the replacement.
The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes (service lines), and brass or bronze faucets and fixtures with lead soldering. Identifying the location of lead service lines is a key step in getting them replaced and protecting you and your family’s health. Furthermore, the City is actively updating its service line inventory and needs the information to identify all unknown service lines in the system and be able to verify that there is no lead in Tamarac’s water distribution system.
If you have a lead service line, you should replace it to protect your personal health and your family’s health. No amount of lead is safe for humans to consume. Young children (under 6 years old) and the elderly can be more effected by lead exposure. They, along with pregnant women, may be at a higher public health risk to lead.
After your lead service line is replaced, immediately perform the following steps to flush your home’s plumbing of debris that may have collected in your pipes during construction:
1. Remove aerators and screens whenever possible from all faucets, including the shower heads, you plan to flush. Include laundry tubs, hose bibs, bathtubs, and showers as flushing points.
2. Open the faucets in the lowest floor in the house. Leave all faucets running at highest rate possible, using cold water.
3. Open the faucets on next highest floor of the house. Continue until faucets are open on all floors.
4. After all faucets are opened, leave the water running for at least 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, turn off the first faucet you opened and continue to turn off other faucets in the same order you turned them on.
6. Clean aerators/screens at each faucet. You may need to replace screens/aerators if they are old or worn.
Then, conduct a 30-minute flush every other week for three months.
Health Information
Exposure to high levels of lead is a serious health risk. Lead builds up in the body over many years and can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells, and kidneys. The greatest risk is to young children, pregnant women, and unborn babies. Amounts of lead that will not harm adults can slow down the normal mental and physical development of children, particularly those under 6 years old.
You can take several actions to decrease your lead exposure, including:
- Replacing your lead service line.
- Getting a National Sanitation Foundation(NSF)-Certified home water treatment device, faucet, or pitcher filter that removes lead. The device must be both NSF 42- and NSF 53- certified to remove lead. Devices and filters installed at the faucet will remove any lead contained in indoor plumbing and plumbing fixtures.
- Buying plumbing fixtures (faucets, valves, sinks, hose bibs, etc.) that have zero- or low-lead content meeting the current “lead-free” requirements. Read the labels of any new plumbing fixtures closely.
- Running tap water for about five minutes before you use it for drinking or cooking, if the water has gone unused for more than6 hours. In doing so, you are flushing the stagnated water and getting freshwater from the water main pipe.
- Using fresh, cold, running water for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula.
- Removing and cleaning faucet screens and aerators every 6 months.
DO NOT boil water to remove lead. Boiling water does not remove lead and can increase lead concentration in water.
Yes. Human skin does not absorb lead in water. Bathing and showering should be safe for you and your children, even if the water contains lead over EPA’s action level.
Not necessarily. If you live in a building built before 1986, it is possible that your plumbing fixtures contain lead or lead solder was used at the joints of your interior piping. A licensed plumber can help figure out if you have lead material in your indoor plumbing, or you can use an EPA-approved lead test kit: List of EPA-approved lead test kits
You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter. If purchasing a water filter, read the packaging to be sure that the filter is approved to reduce lead. You can also contact NSF International at 800-NSF-8010 or visit their website here for information on performance standards for water filters. To protect water quality, be sure to maintain and replace a filter device in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.