Baltimore County urged residents to help identify water service‑line materials and said it will offer free excavations and free replacements for lines confirmed to contain lead.

A Baltimore County representative said the county "is required to identify the material of all water service lines in the drinking water system" and described the work as part of a nationwide initiative to find and remove lead from drinking‑water systems. The representative asked residents to complete a roughly five‑minute survey to test the portion of the service line that homeowners own (from the meter to the house) and report results to DPWT.

The county representative said, "If your service line is not accessible, please still submit the survey. You can indicate that your service line is inaccessible, and then Baltimore County offers free excavations for interested residents." The excavation involves digging a small hole by the water meter to perform a scratch-and-magnet test; county staff said the water service will not be interrupted and the hole will be refilled and reseeded after testing.

On risk, the representative said homes added to the system before "lead was banned in 1960" may have a higher likelihood of containing lead pipes, but that existing survey results indicate finding lead service lines is still uncommon. The representative recommended residents complete the survey to gain certainty about their service‑line material.

When asked whether water is safe to drink, the county representative directed residents to the program's inventory map and to options for material investigation. The representative noted that "Baltimore City treats the water with a corrosion inhibitor," and said residents can contact Baltimore City 311 for a free water‑quality test to confirm whether lead is reaching the water they drink.

The county said galvanized service lines are more common than lead lines and can present other problems, such as corrosion and leaking. The representative stated, "If I report a galvanized service line and the county confirms that it may contain lead, the county will replace it for free, saving me thousands of dollars in the future." The transcript lists a survey deadline of March 31, 2026, and provides a URL (tinyeuro.com/bslpsurvey) for residents to take the survey as noted in the meeting record.

Next steps: residents should check the county's inventory map, complete the survey or call DPWT to request a material investigation or the free excavation if their line is inaccessible. The county said lead presence will be confirmed before any replacement is performed.