LCRI Information
12/12/2025
Washburn In-Home Pipe Inspections Begin in 2026
The State of North Dakota is working to get the lead out of the state’s drinking water pipes and Washburn needs your help. We need to ensure the City has the most accurate information about the pipe materials utilized in the construction of your property.
Washburn is working with an engineering consultant, AE2S, to complete the inventory of all the public and private water services lines in our service area. Beginning in January 2026, inspectors from AE2S will visit homes and businesses with unknown service lines to identify the pipe material as lead, copper, plastic, or galvanized steel. They may also visit properties with service lines previously identified as lead or galvanized steel service lines to confirm the pipe materials. The inspections should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
A public meeting is planned for Wednesday, December 17th at 11:00 a.m. at Washburn City Hall to provide information about the pipe inventory, inspection process, and to answer questions. Please join us if you would like more information.
Every water system in the United States is required to provide a pipe inventory to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as required under the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). If lead is found within Washburn’s public pipes or utility customers’ private property, we will work with the State of North Dakota to access funding to remove and replace the pipes. That is why it is important that we have a complete list of properties with lead pipes in the inventory that we submit to the State of North Dakota in 2026.
Funding for Washburn’s LCRI assistance is provided through a contractual agreement between the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and AE2S.