Protect Your Tap: A Guide To Checking For Lead In Your Drinking Water

Lead exposure can have devastating effects on health, especially for children, impacting IQ, focus, and academic achievement.

Drinking water can be a potential source of lead in your home, often through lead service lines—the pipes that connect your home to the main water supply.

This guide explains how to:

1. Check for lead service lines in your home.
2. Reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.
3. Test your water for lead contamination.

How Lead Enters Drinking Water

1. Lead can leach into water through lead service lines, faucets, and plumbing materials, especially with hot water or water high in acidity.
2. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes or solder.

Steps to Identify Lead Service Lines If You Use Municipal Water

1. Contact Your Water Supplier
2. Ask if lead pipes connect your home to the water main.
3. Sample Script: ''Hello, I live at 33 Elm Street and I am wondering if you could tell me if the water lines to my property are lead pipes? Also, do you provide lead testing for our drinking water?''
4. Follow EPA guides with pictures and step-by-step directions to identify lead pipes.

If You Have a Private Well

1. Homeowner Responsibility: The EPA doesn’t regulate private wells. Regular testing is essential.
2. Check for lead in pipes, solder, and faucets.

For Renters

1. Contact your landlord to learn about the water source and whether your building has lead pipes.
2. The landlord will say whether you are using municipal water or private well water. if they do not know, you can also locate and check the local meter.

Identify What Your Pipe Is Made Of

1. Plastic - Not a source of lead in drinking water, but there still might be lead in other parts of your plumbing. It might still be good to have your water tested and know how to reduce exposure.
2. Metal - Determine what kind using a coin, key or magnet. These tools can determine if the pipes are made of galvanized steel, copper, or lead.
3. Gently scratch pipe, if it is orange, or pale orange, it is copper. If it is some shade of gray, scratch that section of pipe. If it is hard to scratch and a magnet sticks to the pipe, you may have galvanized steel pipes. If it is soft and a magnet does not stick, you may have lead pipes.

Tips to Reduce Lead in Your Drinking Water

Flush Your Pipes Before Use:

1. Run water for several minutes before drinking or cooking, especially after hours of inactivity.
2. Use high-volume taps (e.g., showers, dishwashers) to flush the system.

Use Filters Properly:

1. Choose a filter certified to remove lead.
2. Replace cartridges regularly and avoid running hot water through filters.

Use Cold Water for Cooking and Drinking:

1. Avoid using hot water directly from the tap for consumption—it dissolves lead more quickly.

Clean Faucet Screens (Aerators):

1. Regularly clean aerators to remove lead particles, especially for faucets made before 1986.

Test Your Water for Lead

1. Have your water tested to confirm contamination.
2. Many states and utilities offer programs for lead testing and service line replacement.
3. Find certified labs to test your drinking water for lead

Stay Informed and Take Action

Lead exposure is preventable. By identifying and addressing potential risks, you can protect your family’s health.

Visit EPA's resources or contact your local water supplier for more information.