Lead and Copper Site Plan Updates
For Community Public Water Systems

Understanding the rule

All Community Public Water Systems need to ensure the sites they are collecting from meet the federal rule requirements.

The Lead and Copper Rule requires public water systems to collect from lead and copper sites that are at highest risk for elevated levels of corrosion based on the Sample Site Tier Criteria. Community Public Water Systems need to be able to confirm the sample sites they are using meet the rule requirements prior to beginning sample collection. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will update this page as more information/guidance becomes available.

Creating your lead and copper site plan

This is a beneficial time to do this project since service line data and site information is also necessary to confirm the sample sites your system uses for sample collection are appropriate. In providing all the information in the spreadsheet for each site, systems will be able to confirm their sites meet the requirements of the rule based on the materials present in the distribution and the residents willing to participate in sample collection.

The excel sheet below can be downloaded and edited for your system’s site plan and the instructions will detail the process to confirm your system has enough sites that meet the rule requirements.

Systems need to provide the sites to Minnesota Department of Health ahead of their lead and copper sample collection in order to confirm the samples will be appropriate.

• Lead and Copper Site Plan Template (Excel)
• Lead and Copper Site Plan Template: Instructional Guideline Factsheet (PDF)

The record of participation form is intended to be used when a system is trying to get a sample collected from a high-priority (lowest tier number) sample site. The system can record their outreach to those residents, and any refusals should a resident decline system’s request for participating in lead and copper sample collection. Each high-priority sample site in distribution must have a documented record of participation before the system can move to a lower priority (high tier number) site for sampling.

• Lead and Copper Sampling - Record of participation Form (PDF)

The following is a webinar training video designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of what the lead/copper site plan template is and how it can be effectively utilized for your system. This resource aims to guide you through the key components of the template, ensuring you have the knowledge and tools necessary to implement it correctly.

If you have any questions, please first refer to our Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ) with Responses for Lead/Copper Site Plan Template (PDF), which covers a wide range of common inquiries. 

If your question is not addressed in the FAQ, or if you require further assistance, feel free to email us directly at health.community.leadandcopper@state.mn.us.