Lead in our environment is a public health issue about which we should all be concerned.

Lead is a soft metal which is now known to be harmful to human health if consumed or inhaled.  Since lead accumulates in the body, its potential for harm depends upon the level of exposure from all sources.

There are three potential sources for lead to accumulate in the body.  The major source is from food, and lead is also inhaled from the air.  The other potential source of lead is from your drinking water.

To protect the public’s health, public drinking water supplies are governed by the Safe Drinking Water Act under which the United States Environmental Protection Agency sets drinking water standards.

Although there is a high level of compliance with drinking water standards throughout the United States, there is still reason for some concern about certain contaminants which may get into public drinking water supplies, including lead.

As your supplier of drinking water we have prepared this information piece to help educate you on this issue.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets drinking water standards and has determined that lead is a health concern at certain levels of exposure.  There is currently a standard of 0.015 parts per million (ppm).

Part of the purpose of this notice is to inform you of the potential adverse health effects of lead.  This is being done even through your water may not be in violation of the current standard.

If your home or water system has lead pipes, or

If your home has copper pipes with lead solder, and

If the home was built prior to 1986, or

If you have soft or acidic water, or

If water sits stagnant in the pipes for more than six hours.

Typically, if lead is present in the drinking water, it enters after the water leaves the local water treatment plant.  The most common cause of lead entering drinking water is corrosion, a reaction between the water and the lead pipes or the lead-based solder.

            When water stands in the pipes of a residence for a minimum of six hours without use, there is a potential for lead to leach, or dissolve, into the water if a lead source is present.

            Soft water (water that makes soap suds easily) can be more corrosive and, therefore, has higher levels of dissolved lead.  Some home water treatment devices may also make water more corrosive.

            It was common practice in the United States through the early 1900s to use lead pipes for interior plumbing.  Since the 1930s, copper pipe has been used for residential plumbing.  Until 1986, however, lead-based solder was used widely to join copper pipes.  Lead-free solder and lead-free materials are now required by federal law for use in new household plumbing and for plumbing repairs.  To find out if the plumbing in a residence contains lead, try scratching the pipe with a key or screwdriver.   Lead is a soft metal and is dull gray in color.  If lead pipes are present they will scratch easily and will be shiny when scratched. 

            Dissolved lead cannot be seen in water.  Testing by a state-approved laboratory is the only way to determine if drinking water has high levels of dissolved lead.  Contact the local utility or health department for the name of an approved laboratory.  The lab will provide the correct procedures to be followed for a water test.  The U.S. EPA estimates that a test should cost somewhere between $30 and $75.

            If the drinking water is determined to have high levels of dissolved lead, or if there is an abiding suspicion of lead contamination because of the presence of soft water, lead pipes, lead solder, and other lead-based plumbing materials, there are ways to minimize exposure.

            One way is to “flush” each cold-water faucet in a home when water stands more than a few hours.  Flushing a cold-water faucet means allowing the water to run until it gets as cold as it will get before each use.  Normally this may take two or three minutes.  Keep in mind that toilet and shower use or doing laundry with cold water will also move through the plumbing system, and this will reduce the amount of time needed to flush the cold-water faucets to five to 30 seconds.

            Another way is one of avoidance: do not cook with or consume water from the hot-water faucet.  Hot water dissolves lead more quickly than cold water.  Especially avoid using hot tap water for making baby formula.  If hot water is needed for cooking or oral consumption, draw water from the cold water tap and heat it on the stove or in the microwave. 

            If plumbing repairs or other plumbing work is done, make certain that only lead-free solder and other lead-free materials are used.  This is now a federal law.

There are other actions which can be taken by household users to reduce the risk of lead in drinking water.  For additional information, please contact the local utility, county or state health department, or the U.S. EPA.  The U.S. EPA has a toll free hotline dedicated to this subject ~ 1-800-426-4791 ~ and has also prepared a booklet on this issue.