JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JEA sent thousands of letters out to customers asking them to check their water lines outside for lead.
The utility company launched the project to comply with a newly passed addendum to the Lead and Copper Rule that was established by the Environmental Protection Agency.
During the first phase of the project, the company randomly selected to confirm if there are signs of lead or not.
JEA says customers should not be concerned if their homes were built after 1986.
So far after having 90% of them checked out JEA says no lead has been detected and they tell me they don’t expect any to be found.
They’re just asking customers to participate to ensure they're continuing to provide safe, clean drinking water.
“First I thought it could be a scam because there’s so many going around, and it came in a plain envelope. There was no logo on there but when I did open the letter it did have JEA logo on there,” said Denise McDonald, JEA customer.
After reading the letter and reaching out to JEA, Denise McDonald quickly found out she wasn’t being scammed.
In fact, this letter was sent to McDonald and thousands of other customers whose homes were built before 1986 … the utility asking them to go out in their yards and check their water service lines for lead.
“While JEA can ensure that the water that leaves from our facilities is lead free,” said Karen McAlister, JEA Public Information Officer. “We want to ensure water going to homes and businesses is also lead free.”
However since the McDonald and her husband are in their 70s, that’s not so easy to do.
“My husband has a heart condition and he’s not gonna dig and I have other issues and I'm not gonna dig but I'm glad I have that option,” said McDonald.
According to JEA customers like the McDonald's, who are unable to check the lines themselves, can call for someone with the utility company to come out and test their pipes for them.
Since JEA reached out to more than 8,000 customers with galvanized steel lines and 40,000 with unknown material … they’ll need residents' help checking those lines.
First Coast News is on your side with the step-by-step process from JEA on how to do so.
JEA says you’re going to want to use a penny and a magnet to test your pipes at home.
You’re then going to find where your service line enters your home. Then test the material of the pipe by scratching it with the coin to reveal its color, hold the magnet to the pipe to see if it sticks and take photos of your results.
Check to see if your pipes are plastic, copper, brass, galvanized steel or lead, by following this:
If the material is red, blue, black or white, the pipe is plastic.
If the material is the color of a penny (dull brown or greenish) and a magnet does not stick, the pipe is copper.
If the material is dark yellow or golden, the pipe is brass.
If the material is dull gray and a magnet sticks to it, the pipe is galvanized steel.
If the material is gray, shines brightly, is easily scraped and a magnet does not stick to it, the pipe is lead.
You’ll then report your findings and upload your photos to JEA’s customer portal you can find at jea.com/lcrr.
Click here to watch a full demonstration from JEA on how to check your pipes:
If you've already replaced your water service line, they ask that you let them know at jea.com/lcrr.
The company plans on having all of their inventory checked out by the end of 2025.