Service Line Inventory

Service Line Inventory Project Confirms Lead-Free Water System

Water service lines are jointly owned by the City and private property owners. This ownership changes at the meter. Service lines can be made of different materials, including copper, plastic, galvanized steel, and lead.  In Oregon, lead service lines were not commonly used, and the use of lead was banned in 1985.  

In August 2024, Forest Grove completed an inventory of the service line materials in the City.   Through the process of reviewing historical records, installation dates, and existing service line data, the number of unknown service lines was greatly reduced.  From here, a statistical based method was used to confirm that all remaining unknown water services were lead-free. Crews dug up and physically inspected 351 randomly selected private side service lines and recorded the material type.   By confirming all 351 were lead free, we can be confident that all water services in the City are non-lead.  

A map was created to show a basic illustration of water service line materials for properties served by Forest Grove Water.   This searchable map provides details about the service lines that provide water to individual properties.  

A link to searchable map can be found here:  https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/274352675cc7497791e04574d27cab13