NORTH VERNON, Ind. — Water Department Superintendent Will Spencer provided operational and regulatory updates during the North Vernon Utility Service Board meeting on Monday, September 21.
The city is finalizing updates to 500 customer records, correcting minor address formatting and postal errors, ahead of mandatory lead service line notifications scheduled for November.
Spencer noted that while North Vernon historical testing remains compliant, upcoming legislative shifts in 2027 mandate that all Indiana water utilities perform 20 lead and copper tests every six months.
The water utility is also undertaking system maintenance and long-term planning, including:
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Water tower service: Utility Service Group will wash out the 300,000-gallon Industrial Park water tower and install a power mixer this week; water plant operators will work split evening shifts to manage supply levels while the tank is offline
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Lead service line inventory: Existing lead components in the municipal system primarily consist of older "lead goosenecks" in historic areas like Irish Hill and 2nd through 6th Streets; systemwide main replacements over the last two decades have removed a significant portion of lead lines ahead of the state's 2037 removal deadline
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Upcoming compliance actions: Future mandates leading into 2037 require annual customer notices, mandatory testing at school facilities every six months, and continued excavation to identify unknown line materials
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