Cranberry orders lead/copper inspection in Fernway
CRANBERRY TWP — Supervisors during a meeting Thursday, June 27, gave the go-ahead to inspect the service lines underneath the Fernway neighborhood for signs of lead or copper.
The inspection will be carried out partially by Cranberry-based utility company State Pipe Services and will cost $113,700, which will be paid for through a Pennsylvania COSTARS contract.
Cranberry Township manager Dan Santoro said the inspection is being ordered due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions which were passed in 2021. The LCRR requires all municipal water systems to submit an inventory of lead service lines to the state agency by Oct. 16, 2024, and put together a plan for replacing those lines if necessary.
Santoro said during the meeting he is “99.99% sure” the service lines in the Fernway development are safe. However, the township is ordering the inspection for Fernway because they lack the documentation to prove there are no lead or copper service lines, as Fernway is the oldest development in Cranberry Township.
“The rest of the developments were built more recently, and we know we had in place the requirements that required no lead or copper,” Santoro said. “We did in this plan also, but we don't have the documentation to share with EPA, so we need to go back and check this development.”
Those requirements were introduced by the township in 1960, when the township introduced an ordinance forbidding the use of lead in water service lines. Cranberry Township’s boom in development, which led it to become the largest municipality in Butler County, largely took place after this period.
“The majority of developments were built after 1960,” Santoro said. “We have the documentation to demonstrate that there is no lead in those service lines.”
The inspection will require a township employee to enter the home for about 20 minutes to conduct a “non-invasive” test of the service lines, followed by two additional tests conducted outside the home which involve “hydro excavation” — drilling holes with pressurized water. The township said it will restore any exterior property which has been disturbed.
The interior inspection portion will be conducted by employees from the township’s own utilities department, while the exterior portion will be carried out by contractors from State Pipe Services.
The township has sent out postcards to residents of the Fernway development to inform them of the situation, and a page has been set up on the Cranberry Township website for Fernway residents.
Those who schedule and complete an inspection of their service lines ahead of time can receive a one-time $10 credit on their utility bill. This credit is only available to residents of the Fernway neighborhood.
