The City of Kilgore posted the following public notice on CityofKilgore.com this week, dated May 10, 2025.
Here’s a key excerpt: “The water continues to be safe to drink and the City completes routine Lead and Copper sampling every year. This is a tedious effort to inventory the materials of construction of over 5,500 service connections in our water system, both on the customer side and city side of the meter. We expect to be complete by December 31, 2025.”
For some additional context, the City of White Oak has been dealing with a similar task in the past year, trying to develop a clearer picture of how many lead service lines are still in operation and what’s necessary to upgrade existing infrastructure. It’s on the City of Gladewater’s plate as well.
Find the City of Kilgore’s original public notice here. Follow @KilgoreCurrent for future updates on the inventory project…
From the City of Kilgore / Public Water System:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
Lead Treatment Technique Requirements Not Met
Our water system recently violated a drinking water requirement. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did (are doing) to correct this situation.
Failure to meet minimum treatment requirements for lead has the potential to increase your exposure to lead. We did not complete the following requirement(s):
Failure to complete, submit, and make publicly available a Lead Service Line Inventory which was be in place by October 16, 2024. A Lead Service Line Inventory is a catalog of the material of construction of the water service line both on the customer side and city side.
There is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups, especially pregnant people, infants (both formula-fed and breastfed), and young children. Some of the health effects to infants and children include decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can also result in new or worsened learning and behavior problems. The children of persons who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy may be at increased risk of these harmful health effects. Adults have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems. Contact your health care provider for more information about your risks.
What should I do?
There is nothing you need to do at this time. You may continue to drink the water. We will notify you within 24 hours if a situation arises where the water is no longer safe to drink.
What is being done?
The City is working to develop this Lead Service Line Inventory. The water continues to be safe to drink and the City completes routine Lead and Copper sampling every year. This is a tedious effort to inventory the materials of construction of over 5,500 service connections in our water system, both on the customer side and city side of the meter. We expect to be complete by December 31, 2025.
For more information, please contact:
PWS Contact Name: Clayton R. Evers, P.E. Director of Public Works
Phone: 903-988-4118
Email: clay.evers@cityofkilgore.com
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
Date distributed: May 10, 2025
Download the public notice here…
(Courtesy Photo: unsplash.com/@walterrandlehoff)
