By October 2024, water systems will submit LSL replacement plans to their state primacy agencies. These plans must be sufficiently detailed to ensure a system is able to comply with the LSL replacement requirements, including:
  1. Strategy for determining the composition of lead status unknown service lines in its inventory;
  2. Procedure for conducting full LSL replacement;
  3. Strategy for informing customers before a full or partial LSL replacement;
  4. For systems that serve more than 10,000 persons, an LSL replacement goal rate recommended by the system in the event of a lead trigger level exceedance;
  5. Procedure for customers to flush service lines and premise plumbing of particulate lead;
  6. LSL replacement prioritization strategy based on factors including but not limited to the targeting of known LSLs, LSL replacement for disadvantaged consumers and populations most sensitive to the effects of lead; and
  7. Funding strategy for conducting LSL replacements, which considers ways to accommodate customers that are unable to pay to replace the portion they own.

​The plan sets the stage for full LSL replacement programs should the water system exceed either the lead action level or trigger level. It also outlines the practices that water systems will use on an ongoing basis to remove these service lines and lead connectors in the course of on-going system activities.
Opportunities to Accelerate Replacement​
A well-developed plan can be the starting point for initiating LSL replacement whether triggered by rule requirements or more quickly through proactive, voluntary initiation.
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Questions to ask include:
  • Are local elected and appointed officials aware of and supportive of LSL replacement and funding efforts?
  • Are local public health offices prepared to support communication with the public about lead risk? And help with coordinating lead risk reduction from other sources with the LSL replacement plan?
  • How can community groups support plan development?
  • How might a community dialogue minimize the number of partial replacements that leave a segment of lead or galvanized pipe in place on the customer’s property? (For example, advance planning with municipal road program managers and engineers could allow more time to help homeowners replace the portion of a line on their property.)
  • In order to avoid disparities in participation, how might the community secure funding to reduce the burden on customers with limited access to the resources needed to pay for full replacement?
  • How can principles of health equity and environmental justice inform how replacements are prioritized in the community? 
Resources