DC Water’s Lead Free DC program is tearing into the city’s old plumbing, logging more than 3,100 lead service line replacements in fiscal year 2025 and marking a 43 percent jump from the prior year. That push helped the utility cross a symbolic threshold: the program’s 10,000th lead line replacement, aided by a mix of free and discounted work for homeowners as the District scrambles to stay ahead of federal deadlines on lead in drinking water.
FY25 Totals And Council Scrutiny
In written responses to the D.C. Council, the utility reported 3,177 full lead service line replacements in FY25, a figure submitted as part of its performance oversight filings. According to those materials, the tally covers both public-side and private-side full replacements, plus several thousand interim steps such as filter pitchers dropped off at affected homes, as laid out in the D.C. Council submissions.
Milestone Year And Aggressive Outreach
DC Water’s FY25 Lead Free DC annual report casts the year as a turning point, pointing to that 10,000th replacement and describing a roughly 50 percent bump in production compared with FY24. The utility also reports more than $10 million in free and discounted private-side replacements in FY25, a key carrot for getting residents to sign on. The report highlights more than 10,000 right-of-entry agreements and thousands of in-person outreach contacts that helped fill crews’ work schedules. According to DC Water, new identification tools and a team of community activators were central to that surge in participation.
Federal Rules Turn Up The Heat
Locally, the pace is shaped by a national clock. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements require water systems to find and replace lead service lines, and certain galvanized ones, within roughly a decade. The rule also tightens testing, inventory and reporting requirements and steers substantial federal funding and technical help to local utilities trying to rip out old pipes at scale, according to the EPA.
Street-Level Coordination, Verification And Jobs
DC Water said its verification work improved in FY25, and material verifications rose by about 9 percent, which helped crews target blocks more efficiently and avoid unnecessary digging. The utility also emphasized that it coordinates with the District Department of Transportation so that permits and paving line up and streets are not torn up and repaved multiple times. On the outreach side, Lead Free DC is leaning on its Community Activators canvassing program, which trains and hires District residents in partnership with the Department of Employment Services. “Lead Free DC continues to build momentum toward our mission to replace all lead water service lines in the District,” DC Water CEO David Gadis said in a statement announcing the latest numbers. The utility’s news release walks through the FY25 highlights and priorities for the program, according to DC Water.
What Residents Should Know
Residents who are unsure whether their home is served by a lead line, or who know they have had only a partial replacement, are urged to take some basic precautions. The District Department of Energy and Environment recommends calling DC Water to request a water test and considering NSF-certified filters for drinking water. DOEE also advises households with young children or pregnant people to be especially cautious and to ask a doctor about blood-lead testing if there is concern about exposure. District guidance is available through DOEE.
For all the progress, DC Water and council filings make clear that the job is far from finished. The utility estimates that roughly 42,000 lead or galvanized service lines are still in the ground across the District, and it projects that removals will have to keep up the current pace to meet the EPA timetable and wrap up by or before the 2037 deadline. Officials say the FY25 jump is meaningful, but finishing the work will depend on reliable funding, tight coordination with other city agencies and a sustained push to keep residents opening their doors and signing up. For the full breakdown of FY25 performance, see the oversight materials filed with the D.C. Council.
