Homes built before 1988 might contain lead in their plumbing systems, which can affect water safety. While the water Aquarion provides does not contain lead, it's important to be aware of potential lead sources within your service line and your home's plumbing.
Here, you'll find useful tips for finding potential lead sources and what steps to take if you suspect lead in your home.
Depending on the age of your home, it may have lead lines, pipes, fittings, and/or fixtures. For example:
Aquarion tests your water for more than one hundred compounds, including ones that may increase the corrosion of metals, including lead, in your service line or in your home plumbing.
Where necessary we carefully adjust pH levels and introduce compounds designed to minimize corrosion. These compounds coat the pipes and fixtures in your home to reduce the risk of lead leaching into your water. While corrosion control helps to reduce the amount of lead that may leach from lead materials in your plumbing system, these steps may not be 100% effective in all cases.
Aquarion performs compliance testing in accordance with regulations established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and applicable State agencies to ensure we protect the public health of the communities we serve. However, if you have questions about your home, we recommend you have an independent testing lab check the water from your taps to see if lead is present.
For more information, call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791 or contact Aquarion's Water Quality Management Department.
Extensive testing shows that Aquarion's treatment is effective and keeps your water safe. So, if there's lead in your water, it usually comes from the plumbing inside your home. Follow these steps to check if your home's plumbing has lead:
Until you can identify and replace sources of lead, or if it is not practical to replace sources of lead, take the following steps:
The chance of lead leaching into your water is greater when the water has been standing in your home's pipes for several hours. Running your faucet will bring in new, cool water from the water main. This removes lead that may leach from your plumbing. This is especially important if you have been away from home for several days or weeks.
Before using a faucet for drinking, cooking, or preparing baby formula, all customers should run the cold water for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until it feels as cold as it can be.
If your home has lead service or plumbing lines, brass fittings, lead solder, or older faucets containing lead, run the water for 3-5 minutes anytime that you haven’t used water in your home for several hours. This is often first thing in the morning and again in the evening.
To support conservation efforts, consider capturing this water and using it for laundry, cleaning, watering your plants and lawn, and washing your car. Do not drink it or use it for cooking.
Maintenance work on lead service lines or on your home's plumbing may release lead particles into your water, which could impact your health. Therefore, it is very important to do a 30-minute “flush” to remove any lead particles that may be in your home plumbing lines:
Remember:
If you or your plumber discover galvanized iron or lead in your service line and/or your home's plumbing, you may wish to use an in-home water filter.
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), a public health and safety organization, has tested and compiled an extensive list of devices certified to filter for lead. The products include pour-through water pitchers, faucet-mounted filters, and whole-home filters. Review their list of in-home water filter recommendations. If you choose to use a filter in your home, please make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions, including for filter replacement.
Explore the links below for a list of laboratories certified to test for lead in drinking water:
Discover the health risks of lead in drinking water and Aquarion's measures to help address lead in water systems.
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