Drinking water Lead and Copper Rules

Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and Improvements (LCRI)

On January 15, 2021, the EPA published the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) to strengthen the protections against lead in drinking water. The LCRR required water systems to comply with the revised requirements by October 16, 2024. In October 2024, EPA finalized the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), which goes into effect on Nov. 1, 2027. The LCRI revises and/or delays many of the LCRR requirements. Water systems must continue to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) requirements in Regulation 11, Section 11.26 until the LCRI compliance date of November 1, 2027. Water systems must also comply with the following retained elements of the LCRR, which were effective on October 16, 2024:

• Completion, submission, and public availability of the initial service line inventory by October 16, 2024 or other State-determined deadline.
• Initial notification of service line material for lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown service lines within 30 days of completion of inventory and on an annual basis thereafter, and associated reporting.
• Tier 1 public notification of a lead action level exceedance above 15 parts per billion (ppb), and associated reporting.

We began a stakeholder engagement process in September 2025 to review the the LCRI requirements and the our process for adopting it into Regulation 11. Please visit the LCRI stakeholder engagement webpage to get involved.

Additional Information:

• EPA Lead and Copper Rule Revisions and Lead and Copper Rule Improvements.
  • Code of Federal Regulations.
• Lead service line inventories and replacement.
  • Lead Service Line Inventory and Replacement Plan Requirements/FAQ.
  • Initial Service Line Inventory Policy.
  • Single Service Line Inventory Guidance.
  • Customer Outreach Guide for service line identification.
    • CDPHE customer outreach letter of support.
    • Outreach letter to customers template.
    • Customer survey form template.
    • Customer service line material identification guide.
    • Lead fact sheet.
  • EPA Guidance for Developing and Maintaining a Service Line Inventory.
  • Forms:
    • Initial service Line Inventory form required to be completed by community and non-transient, non-community (NTNC) systems for the LCRR initial inventory. Originally intended for systems with one or more lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown service lines the detailed form has replaced the Non-Lead Inventory form and should also be completed for all service lines, including non-lead service lines.
    • Baseline Inventory form coming soon! Due Nov. 1, 2027.
    • Lead Service Line Replacement Plan form required to be completed by systems with lead, "galvanized requiring replacement", and/or lead status unknown service lines. Due Nov. 1, 2027.
• Service Line Material Notification:
  • Service Line Material Notification Requirements and FAQ Document.
  • Lead service line notification template for consumers with a service line known to contain lead. Note: Use the GRR notification template for galvanized currently downstream from a lead service line.
  • Galvanized requiring replacement (GRR) notification template for consumers with a galvanized service line currently or previously downstream from a lead service line.
  • Unknown service line notification template for consumers with a service line of unknown material.
  • Lead and Unknown service line notification template for consumers where one portion of the service line is lead, and the other portion of the service line is unknown.
  • Service line consumer notification certificate of delivery.
• Lead testing in schools and child care facilities
  • Note: lead sampling in schools and child care facilities is delayed until November 2027. This includes compiling and submitting a list of schools and child care facilities supplied by the system.
    • Systems should compile a list of schools and child care facilities they supply closer to when the information will be applied to ensure they have the most up-to-date information.
    • More information will be available in 2025.
  • Lead testing in schools and child care facilities: mandatory state program vs. LCRR requirements.
  • Test and Fix Water For Kids webpage - mandatory lead sampling for schools and child care programs (HB22-1358).
  • EPA 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities.

Lead and Copper Rule (LCR)