As part of the City of Valparaiso’s inventory of water service lines, door knockers will begin visiting residences throughout the community to perform short in-home assessments. “These quick residential visits will help us to complete the full inventory as required by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management,” said Matt Zurbriggen, Deputy Director for Valparaiso City Services. This inventory has been mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a part of the 2021 revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule for drinking water.
“We want to remind the public that the drinking water in Valparaiso is safe and that we have an extensive inventory of the utilities’ water service lines. We are now being required to submit an inventory showing the materials used on the customers’ side of the service line and are asking for the community’s help so that we can complete this requirement,” said Zurbriggen.
Door knockers will be conducting visits during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekends. The in-home visit will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. Door knockers will have badges and a City of Valparaiso certification letter with them to confirm their identity. In addition, their pictures are available online at tinyurl.com/EngageValpo.
If residents would prefer NOT to have an unscheduled visit by a door knocker, they may either inspect their water service line themselves using a simple test and submit the information online to Valparaiso City Services OR they can schedule a service line exam at their own convenience. Instructions for how to do the self-inspection or how to schedule the brief visit are available online at tinyurl.com/ValpoReport. You can also call our Customer Service Center during normal business house at (219) 462-6174, option 4.
“Compiling this information is a state and federal requirement. However, the information also benefits our community as we learn of any potential lead water service lines in homes. We are grateful for the cooperation of the community as we work to help make residents aware of the service line materials in their homes. We will also inform residents on how to qualify for any potential funding that may be available to those needing to replace lead service lines in their homes in the future,” said Zurbriggen.
To learn more about the Lead-Safe Valpo water service line inventory and how to add your information to the inventory, visit tinyurl.com/LeadSafeValpo.