In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised the Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR) to reduce exposure to lead and copper in drinking water and protect public health. The most common source of lead in drinking water is the corrosion of materials containing lead in household plumbing. This includes lead pipes, pipes joined with lead-based solder, or galvanized iron pipes that have absorbed lead.
Residents whose dwellings or businesses were built prior to 1989 received notifications of “unknown water service line material” in the fall of 2024 and again in November 2025. The use of lead piping for drinking water in the United States was banned in 1986.
Note: The Town of Wickenburg has not identified any lead service lines. However, without documentation or proof confirming that a service line does not contain lead, all community water systems in the U.S. are required to notify customers of the potential presence of lead in their service lines.
Initially, 2,810 water service lines required verification of their material. That number has been reduced to approximately 1,700 through confirmation based on the age of the dwelling, development as-builts, records, and prior replacements.
The next step for the Town is field verification, which involves digging or potholing service lines to determine the material at locations without existing records. Residents will be notified of the material found at their service line when this work takes place. This project is a significant undertaking and will require time. The Town must submit a more detailed list to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality by November 1, 2027.
The Town of Wickenburg has been sampling for lead and copper in accordance with the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) since 1993 and has never exceeded the regulatory action levels for either lead or copper.