PRWD Tips

About Lead in Drinking Water

The following is provided from the American Water Works Association pamphlet called Living Lead Free.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT LEAD

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and your local water provider are concerned about lead in your drinking water. Although most homes have low levels of lead in their drinking water, a sampling has found that some homes in the community have lead levels above the recommended EPA action level. Read the following to find out what you can do to reduce lead exposure in your own home and why lead is dangerous to your health.

LEAD IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Lead is a common, natural, and often useful metal found throughout the environment in lead-based paint, air, soil, household dust, food, drinking water, and certain types of pottery, porcelain, and pewter. Lead can pose a significant risk to your health if too much of it enters your body. This risk is especially high for pregnant women and young children.

LEAD AND YOUR HEALTH

Lead builds up in the body over many years and can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells, and kidneys. The greatest risk is to young children, pregnant women, and their unborn babies. Amounts of lead that won't hurt adults can slow down normanl mental and physical development of growing bodies. in addition, a child at play often comes into contact with sources of lead contamination - like dirt and dust - that rarely affect an adult. It is important to wash children's hands and toys often, and to try to make sure they only put food in their mouths.

LEAD IN DRINKING WATER

Lead in drinking water, although rarely the sole cause of lead poisoning, can significantly increase a person's total lead exposure, particularly the exposure of infants who drink baby formulas and concentrated juices that are mixed with water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that drinking water can make up 20 percent or more of a person's total exposure to lead.

Lead seldom occurs naturally in water supplies like rivers and lakes. Lead enters drinking water primarily as a result of the corrosion, or wearing away, of materials containing lead that are in the water distribution system and household plumbing. These materials include lead-based solder used to join copper pipe, brass, and chrome-plated brass faucets, and in some cases, pipes made of lead that connect your house to the water main (service lines).

When water stands in lead pipes or plumbing systems containing lead for several hours or more, the lead may dissolve into your drinking water. This means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning or later in the afternoon after returning from work or school, can contain fairly high levels of lead.

Despite your local water provider's best efforts to control water corrosivity, lead levels in some homes or buildings have been found to be high. To find out whether you need to take action in your own home, you should have your drinking water tested to determine if it contains excessive concentrations of lead.

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