Augusta Utilities Department (AUD) operates the public water supply in Augusta, GA. AUD conveys finished water to its customers via a water supply of over 1,200 miles of piping, with portions dating back to the 1800s.

In 2021, the EPA issued significant revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule, called the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR). Included in this revision is the requirement that water providers must develop a publicly available service line inventory to identify the materials of each service line, on both the water provider-owned and customer-owned side. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD) is the state primacy agency for EPA in Georgia and will be responsible for receiving and verifying compliance with the LCRR. In April 2023, GA EPD issued a guidance manual on the development of service line inventories.

AUD provides drinking water to approximately 75,000 service connections. AUD owns the water service line between the water distribution main and the water meter or property line boundary. The customer owns the water service line from the property line/water line into the premise. AUD is currently working on reviewing historical records to identify the materials of these service lines; however, it is anticipated that a large portion of service line materials will still be unknown after this effort. AUD is seeking support to employ field verification and predictive modeling to minimize the number of unknown materials in the service line inventory.