# Are there lead pipes in San Francisco? > What SFPUC has removed, why it flagged galvanized service lines, what tap tests show and where lead can still come from in an older San Francisco building. URL: https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/lead-pipes-san-francisco/ Learn San Francisco's lead story is mostly history and small parts: lead service lines removed decades ago, short lead connectors on old galvanized lines, and household fixtures and solder. What SFPUC reports, and what an owner can check. Last Updated: October 30, 2026 SFPUC removed all known lead service lines in San Francisco in the 1980s, about 7,000 of them, and its plumbers have never observed a lead service line on the owner’s side of the meter. It estimates a 1% chance of lead in a customer-owned line. Small amounts of lead can still reach a tap from inside a building, from older solder, brass fixtures and galvanized pipe that once sat downstream of lead parts. [Hilltop Repipe San Francisco](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/) offers and manages [galvanized pipe replacement](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement/) and [water service line replacement](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/water-service-line-replacement/) across San Francisco, Daly City and South San Francisco, with the work carried out by licensed and insured contractors. Key takeaways - SFPUC removed its known lead service lines, about 7,000, in the 1980s. - Its remaining work targets utility-owned galvanized lines that may carry short lead connectors. - SFPUC has never observed a lead service line on the owner's side and puts the chance at 1%. - It has flagged several hundred galvanized customer-owned lines and recommends replacing them. - Tap sampling puts lead well under the federal action level; household plumbing is the listed source. ## What SFPUC removed, and what it is still replacing The water service line is the pipe from the water main in the street to the building. In San Francisco it has two owners. SFPUC owns the part from the main to the meter box; the property owner owns the part from the meter box to the building. On the utility side, SFPUC removed all known lead service lines in the 1980s. What remained were older galvanized steel lines, some of which had a short flexible lead connector, called a gooseneck, pigtail or whip and about three feet long or less, where the line joined the main. California’s SB 1398 and SB 427 required utilities to inventory and remove these. SFPUC’s inventory started with 13,140 utility-owned lines of galvanized or unknown material; field work confirmed 1,495 as galvanized, and lead whips turned up in only 19% of the galvanized services removed. By January 2026, 1,433 had been replaced with copper, and the program was scheduled to finish years ahead of the state’s 2030 deadline. SFPUC notifies affected customers before the work and provides a filter pitcher with six months of cartridges afterward. ## The owner’s side of the meter The customer-owned line, from the meter box to the building, is where an owner has decisions to make. From more than 9,000 site inspections plus modeling, SFPUC estimates a 1% chance of lead in customer-owned lines, and its plumbers have never observed one. What SFPUC has found on the owner’s side is galvanized steel. In its January 2026 count it had identified 699 customer-owned galvanized lines it recommends replacing, and 109 of unknown material still being confirmed, and it notified those owners in December 2025. The reason for the recommendation is history, not lead in the line itself. A galvanized line that once sat downstream of a lead connector may have collected lead particles on its rough interior, and old galvanized steel corrodes from inside regardless. SFPUC states that, as the property owner, the owner is responsible for replacing the customer-owned portion; it cannot replace that part. SFPUC’s lookup map at sfpuc.gov/lead shows addresses with galvanized lines, and owners with an unknown line can ask SFPUC for an inspection at no charge. Where SFPUC has already replaced its side, a common arrangement is new copper at the meter feeding an old galvanized owner’s line to the house. Replacing that line during a repipe means the new interior system is not fed through old steel. The [water service line replacement](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/water-service-line-replacement/) page covers the work, and a national budgeting range for it is $2,000 to $6,000, with San Francisco permit costs on top. ## What the tap tests show SFPUC samples taps in homes every three years under the federal Lead and Copper Rule. In its 2024 round at 50 sites, the 90th percentile lead level was 4.9 parts per billion, with a range of under 1 to 8.8, against an action level of 15. SFPUC lists the typical source as internal corrosion of household water plumbing systems. Under the federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, the action level drops to 10 parts per billion on November 1, 2027. Those results describe the system. A particular building can be higher or lower depending on its own pipe, solder and fixtures. The [guide to San Francisco water and your pipes](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/san-francisco-water-and-your-pipes/) explains the corrosion control SFPUC applies. ## Where lead can come from inside a building With known lead service lines removed, the remaining sources are inside the building. - **Older faucets, valves and fittings.** Brass and bronze parts made before current limits can contain lead. California’s plumbing code now limits the wetted surfaces of pipe, fittings and fixtures to a weighted average of 0.25% lead, and solder and flux to 0.2%. - **Older solder on copper pipe.** Joints made with lead-bearing solder can release small amounts. - **Galvanized pipe downstream of former lead parts.** Lead particles can collect in the rough, corroded interior of old steel, which is the reason SFPUC recommends replacing galvanized lines. Identifying the pipe is the first step. The [guide to identifying pipe material](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/how-to-identify-pipe-material/) shows how to tell galvanized, copper and plastic apart, and the [are galvanized pipes safe guide](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/are-galvanized-pipes-safe/) covers what old steel means for drinking water. ## Testing your water SFPUC offers lead tap tests at $25 per tap, through 311 or its lead testing page, free for WIC participants and free for owners who received a galvanized-line letter. The test measures what comes out of the faucet, so it reflects the faucet, the solder and the interior pipe as well as the service line. A low result is reassuring about that tap on that day; it does not tell you what the pipe in the walls is made of. A higher result points to looking at the fixture and the plumbing serving it first. Residents of rented units who receive an SFPUC letter about the service line are asked to pass it to the building owner rather than inspect the line themselves, since the line is the owner’s responsibility. ## Daly City and South San Francisco Daly City runs its own water system, and its 2025 report states there are no known lead service lines in its distribution system; its 2025 sampling at 50 homes put the 90th percentile lead level under 5 parts per billion, with no site above the action level. Cal Water, which serves South San Francisco, reports no known lead service lines in its systems and a 90th percentile lead level below detection in its 2025 distribution sampling, with 2 of 31 samples above the action level. The [Daly City](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/service-areas/daly-city/) and [South San Francisco](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/service-areas/south-san-francisco/) pages cover repiping in each. ## What to do if the line or the pipe is galvanized If SFPUC flagged the customer-owned line, replacing it is the step the utility recommends, and it is often done with an interior repipe so both are permitted and tested together. In San Francisco the owner’s water service replacement falls under a DBI plumbing permit, filed by a licensed contractor. If the interior pipe is also galvanized, the typical San Francisco-area range for a whole-house PEX repipe is $8,500 to $16,000 for one bath, $12,000 to $22,000 for two and $14,500 to $28,000 for three; multi-story or hard-access homes can run higher. The [repipe cost guide](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/repiping-cost/) explains the drivers, and the [buying a house with galvanized pipes guide](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-galvanized-pipes/) covers the same questions at purchase. For a walk-through that starts at the meter box and traces the pipe to every tap, call or send the form. ## Questions about this guide ### How can I find out whether my water service line is galvanized? Check SFPUC's lookup map at sfpuc.gov/lead, which shows addresses with galvanized utility- or customer-owned lines, and check whether you received a letter from SFPUC about your line. Owners whose line is unknown can ask SFPUC to inspect it at no charge. Where the line enters the building, galvanized steel is gray, threaded and attracts a magnet. ### What does an SFPUC lead test cost? $25 per tap, ordered through 311 or SFPUC's lead testing page. It is free for WIC participants, and free for owners who received an SFPUC letter identifying a galvanized or unknown customer-owned service line. The test measures what comes out of the tap, which reflects the building's own plumbing as well as the service line. ### Can faucets and fittings still add lead to drinking water? Newer ones contribute very little. California's plumbing code limits the wetted surfaces of pipe, fittings and fixtures to a weighted average of 0.25% lead and solder to 0.2%. Older faucets, valves and solder installed before those limits can contain more, which is why SFPUC lists household plumbing as the typical source of the small amounts found in tap samples. ## Related service ### Galvanized pipe replacement Old threaded steel supply pipe replaced with PEX or copper, with listed transitions, a flush for loosened rust and a city inspection. Galvanized pipe replacement ## More guides - Learn [Are galvanized pipes safe for drinking water?](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/are-galvanized-pipes-safe/)Galvanized steel is not lead pipe, and San Francisco's tap results are low. The real questions are what the pipe was once connected to, what its rust carries into the water and how much life the steel has left. - Learn [Is San Francisco water hard or soft?](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/san-francisco-water-and-your-pipes/)The chemistry of Hetch Hetchy water, read for what it does to pipe: why old steel here clogs with rust rather than scale, what chloramine means for material choice, and why the answer changes a little across the county line. - Learn [How can you tell if you have galvanized pipes?](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/how-to-identify-pipe-material/)A flashlight, a magnet and a coin answer most of it. What you find decides which questions matter next, and what shows in the garage is not always what runs inside the walls. - Decision Guide [Should you buy a house with galvanized pipes?](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-galvanized-pipes/)Galvanized pipe is common in San Francisco's older housing and rarely a reason to walk away. What matters is how much of it there is, what the service line is made of, and whether the price reflects the repipe the house will need. - Learn [Why is rusty water coming from my faucet?](https://hilltoprepipesanfrancisco.com/guide/rusty-water-from-pipes/)Brown water has three usual sources: the utility's mains, the water heater and old galvanized pipe. Which taps, which side and how long it lasts tell them apart before anyone opens a wall.