Baltimore Service Line

Watch this short video to learn how to check your water service line material and report the results to the Baltimore Service Line Partnership.

Watch Now: Check Your Service Line
Three utility workers wearing high-visibility safety vests conduct maintenance at an open manhole on a sidewalk. One worker is crouching and using a testing device, while another holds equipment. A third worker observes while standing nearby. A white pickup truck is parked in the background near a grassy area with fallen leaves.

What You Need to Know

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) works hard to make sure your water is safe. The water leaving our filtration plants has no lead, but it can pick up lead if it passes through old service lines in homes.

A new rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires all water systems to check and share information about water service lines. To help with this, we are asking homeowners and businesses in Baltimore City and County to complete a Customer Service Line Survey to find out what kind of pipes bring water into their buildings.

What Is A Service Line?

A service line is the pipe that connects your home to the public water system. This pipe carries water to your sinks, toilets, and showers. It usually enters your home in the basement or utility area.

Watch our Baltimore Service Line Video Tutorial to learn how to check your pipe material and report it to us.

How To Take the Survey

We have made an easy-to-use online tool to help you check your service line. Follow these steps:

  1. Enter your address on our survey website to see if your service line is unknown.
  2. Find your water service line in your basement or utility area.
  3. Check your pipe material by using simple tools like a magnet and a coin.
  4. Take a picture of the pipe and upload it at www.baltimorecity.gov/service-line-partnership.

You will need a key, magnet, coin, flashlight, and phone or camera to complete the survey.

For more help, visit the Resources tab on our website. There, you can find FAQs and step-by-step instructions for the survey.

Check Your Service Line & Report It Now
A diagram showing a residential street with homes on both sides, illustrating water service lines. The image highlights key points for identifying service line material on both customer and utility sides. The customer-side service lines connect to basements or exterior points near homes, while utility-side service lines connect to the water main

To complete the survey, you will need these tools to identify your service line material: key, magnet, coins, cell phone or camera, and a flashlight. That’s it. Thank you for your help!

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Additional instructions on the service line inventory process are available on the online portal. The portal also features a “resources” tab featuring a frequently asked questions document and step-by-step instructions on how to take the self-reporting survey.

Delivering High-Quality Water

DPW carefully manages the water chemistry in the distribution system to minimize corrosion from household plumbing. Before the water leaves the filtration plant, DPW carefully treats water with lime, an anti-corrosive agent which prevents lead from leaching out of water pipe, including household plumbing.

Decades of sampling data and laboratory results prove that Baltimore’s lead levels are historically low and do not pose a public health concern as indicated in the Annual Water Quality Reports.