On June 7, 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) issued the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) to protect public health and minimize lead and copper in drinking water. EPA issued revisions to the federal LCR on January 15, 2021. U.S. EPA’s new Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) strengthen every aspect of the LCR to better protect communities and children in elementary schools and childcare facilities from the impacts of lead exposure. The new LCRR will get the lead out of our nation’s drinking water and empower communities through information. LCRR requires community water systems (CWSs) and non-transient noncommunity water systems (NTNCs) throughout the United States to conduct an inventory of service lines and determine the material of those lines and fittings.
Oregon Water Utilities conducted inventories of its water systems and found no lead service lines or house lines.
If you wish to learn more about the lead inventory initiative or get information on your identified service line material, please email lead.line@nexuswg.com.
Lead is a metal found in underground rock formations, but lead from this source rarely appears in drinking water, and only in trace concentrations. Lead contamination of our environment is almost always the result of human activities, and in drinking water, occurs somewhere between its source and your tap.
Lead is poisonous to most large organisms. The human body has difficulty eliminating lead, so it accumulates over time in tissues and organs and causes a variety of serious conditions. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span, and it can cause new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing ones. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems.
Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. We are responsible for providing high quality drinking water and removing lead pipes, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components in your home. You share the responsibility for protecting yourself and your family from the lead in your home plumbing. You can take responsibility by identifying and removing lead materials within your home plumbing and taking steps to reduce your family’s risk. Before drinking tap water, flush your pipes for several minutes by running your tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or a load of dishes. You can also use a filter certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead in drinking water. If you are concerned about lead in your water and wish to have your water tested, please contact us. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available at the EPA’s Lead in Drinking Water website.
Older household plumbing (pre-1990s) may contain lead in water service lines, lead solders, and plumbing fixtures (particularly those made of brass). Galvanized iron pipes, common prior to the 1960s, can also attract lead particles and then release them into the water as they corrode. As all these components age, greater amounts of lead leach into the water, particularly when water is left standing in pipes for long periods. It’s also possible for larger lead particles to dislodge and enter drinking water.
In the U.S., the use of lead in household plumbing products has been steadily reduced or eliminated since the late 1980s. As such, homes built or renovated after this time have a lower likelihood of lead contamination, however; the only way to be entirely sure is with proper testing.
Lead in drinking water is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, so the only way of knowing if your home’s plumbing contains lead is: 1) inspection of your plumbing, covered below; or 2) sampling and laboratory testing.
If you think your home has been tested before, the property owner would have received a letter of notification with laboratory test results. If no such letter exists, assume your water hasn’t been tested. Lead contamination is home-specific, so even if a neighbor has been tested, their results may be different from yours.
In the absence of test results, there are some things you can do to reduce your exposure if you think your home’s plumbing may have lead.
These measures should be considered temporary. You should do a visual lead test, and have your water tested as soon as possible.
