More than 7.5 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in 2005 and that’s a lotta’ watta’ by anyone’s standard. Many Americans still contentedly obtain theirs from the kitchen or bathroom faucet. Tap water saves money, sure, but in some homes it contains the contaminant lead, a toxic metal.

 

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The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimates that lead in drinking water — not, long since, from pencil "leads" — contributes between 10 to 20 percent of total lead exposure in young children. Most often, parts of a water delivery system can contain lead, says CDC — essentially, the plumbing inside your home. When water sits inside such pipes and fixtures, corrosion can result, leaching the lead into your drinking water.

Absorb too much lead, and kidneys and the nervous system can be damaged. Note: you can’t see lead, taste it or smell it in the small amounts that may be present in water.

Is Lead in Your Water?

Your health care provider can test for lead exposure in your body; then the “best medicine” is to eliminate the exposure. To evaluate your home’s water supply, buy a test kit online or find a certified testing company or laboratory.

If you find lead in your water, you’ll need to …

Identify the Source

• Corrosion in plumbing — it can appear as a leak, as rust-colored water or as stains or marks on dishes or laundry.
• Natural/industrial deposits
• Lead pipes or copper pipes with lead solder
• Brass-alloy faucets
• Is it in the well? Seek help from a well water contractor.

Reduce Lead Exposure

1. Flush your pipes prior to drinking or cooking, for two to three minutes. Water that sits in pipes may contain more lead.
2. Don’t run hot water from the tap for drinking or cooking. Hot water dissolves lead more quickly.
3. Osmosis, distillation and carbon filters are water treatment methods that can remove lead. Check product claims.
4. Your local health department or water department can also advise you, as can a commercial water treatment company: you’ll pay for the latter.

For your interest regarding the law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states:

“Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act prohibits any person from introducing into commerce any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free after August 6, 1998, except for a pipe that is used in manufacturing or industrial processing. The law also required development of a voluntary standard to limit the leaching of lead into the drinking water for devices that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion.

Lead and copper in drinking water are regulated by a treatment technique that requires systems to control the corrosiveness of their water. If more than 10 percent of tap water samples exceed the action level of 15 parts per billion, water systems must take additional steps to reduce corrosivity.”