Lead in Drinking Water

Lead is a highly toxic metal that can cause serious and permanent health problems. Children and pregnant women are at special risk. Too much lead in the body, or lead poisoning, can damage the brain, kidneys and nervous system.

Young children’s bodies are developing, which makes them more sensitive to lead. Children also absorb lead more easily than adults. Lead in a child’s body can slow down growth and development, make it hard to learn, damage hearing and speech, and cause behavior problems. A baby can be harmed by a woman’s exposure to lead before and during pregnancy. In adults, lead can cause high blood pressure and result in decreased fertility in men.

Lead gets into drinking water as it moves through lead or galvanized iron pipes and fittings, lead solder, and brass or chrome fixtures. Lead is more common in plumbing systems with copper pipes with solder joints.

You are more likely to have lead in your water if you have:

• Signs of corrosion, such as a metallic taste to water or blue-green staining
• A shallow water system like a spring or shallow well, such as a dug or bored well
• Low pH and low alkalinity levels in your water
• Older premise plumbing or water fixtures
• Draw water from somewhere other than a kitchen or drinking faucet

Do you know if you have lead pipes in your home? Check out NPR's online tool to help you find out. If you are on public or town water, your water utility will know what the pipes are made of from their service line to your meter, but they do not know what pipes you have inside your home. If you are on public water, test your water for lead to find out if your pipes or fixtures are a source of lead.

You cannot see, smell or taste lead. Testing is the only way to know if lead is in your drinking water. 

The Health Department recommends testing your well or spring for lead every five years. You can order an inorganic chemical test (Kit C) or an individual lead test kit from the Health Department Laboratory, or you can use another certified drinking water lab to test for inorganic chemicals or for lead.

How to Test Your Water for Lead

There are two types of test kits for lead: first draw and flush. Sample water from the faucet you use for drinking and cooking for both tests. The Health Department recommends measuring the lead level with both a first draw and a flush test kits. Water in a flush sample is less likely to contain lead than water in a first draw sample. This is because of the longer time water is in contact with any plumbing part that may have lead in it. In addition, water sitting in the pipes inside the house becomes warmer. Over time, warmer water will take in more lead if there is lead in solder or in plumbing fixtures or fittings.

First Draw

A first draw sample will tell you if there is lead in your plumbing or water distribution system. The first draw sample collects the first water that comes out of the tap and tends to have a higher level of lead than water that has been running. Sample water first thing in the morning or after the water has been sitting in the pipes for at least six hours.

Flush

A flush sample will help you find out if the lead is coming from the pipes outside your home. Let the water run for three to five minutes or until the water is as cold as it can get before you sample. If you are on public (town) water, a flush sample will be the water coming from the water main connected to your home. If you are on private water, the flush sample will be the water between your pressure tank and well. 

Need help understanding your drinking water test results? Find out how to read your results

There is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Vermont has set a health advisory level for lead to the lowest level that can be detected, which is 0.001 mg/L (milligrams per liter). If you have lead in your water above (>) 0.001 mg/L, the Health Department recommends taking action to lower lead levels in your water, whether you are on a well or spring or on public (town) water. You can install a treatment system to remove lead, replace pipes or plumbing fixtures and fittings, drink and prepare food with bottled water, or get water from a known safe source.

For public water systems (town water), the Environmental Protection Agency's action level for lead in water is 0.015 mg/L. This means a public water system must take action to reduce the lead level in water if more than 10 percent of the water samples they test from household taps have lead levels over 0.015 mg/L.

Lead levels in drinking water can be lowered with one of the methods or treatment systems listed below. Boiling water and sediment filters will not remove lead.

If the results from a flush water sample show no detectable lead (<0.001 mg/L), flushing out the pipes by letting the water run for several minutes will lower the amount of lead in your drinking water. It is not recommended to use this as a permanent solution because it is unclear how often this flushing needs to occur and for how long the water needs to be flushed.

If copper is also detected, or the water has a blue tinge or tastes metallic, neutralization, sometimes referred to as pH adjustment or corrosion control, will keep lead from leaching into the water from your home's pipes, and improve the lifetime of the pipes. Test the pH and alkalinity of the water to make sure it will be an effective treatment. Corrosion control does not keep lead from leaching into the water from pipes before the treatment system. Neutralization is not recommended if lead is found in the flush sample.

These point-of-use (POU) treatment systems will also help remove lead from your water:

• Distillation: These units boil water and then recondense the steam. The lead is left behind during this process, along with hardness and other minerals. These units can produce several gallons of lead-free water per day. Install a system with an NSF/ANSI Standard 62 Certification. 
• Reverse osmosis (RO): This system uses a synthetic membrane that allows water to go through but leaves lead behind. The membrane is continually rinsed. When treating for lead, this system is typically installed under the kitchen sink. Install a system with an NSF/ANSI Standard 58 Certification.
• Carbon filtration: This system uses a filter with carbon in it. As the water moves through the filter, lead is trapped by the carbon until the filter is saturated. Since the carbon filter can remove other minerals found in your water, it is difficult to know how long it will last. Some large carbon filters have been known to last for years, while some small filters may last for only weeks. Install a carbon filtration system with an NSF/ANSI Standard 53 Certification.

You can also remove lead from your water by replacing any lead parts in your water system (for example, pipes, plumbing fixtures and fittings).

Re-test your drinking water for lead after any treatment system is installed to make sure levels are below the health advisory level.

Vermont Wastewater and Potable Water Revolving Loan Fund

This program, also known as the On-Site Loan Program, is available to certain Vermont residents for the repair or replacement of failed water supply and on-site wastewater systems. The On-Site Loan Program is funded and administered by the Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation with loan underwriting and servicing provided by the Opportunities Credit Union in Winooski. Your drinking water supply has to be a failed system and you must be living in the residence on a year-round basis to be eligible. The family income cannot exceed 200% of the state median household income. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, call the On-Site Loan Program.

The NeighborWorks Alliance of Vermont

The NeighborWorks Alliance is made up of five local organizations offering full affordable housing services for income-eligible individuals. You may qualify for help from this program if you need money to install a water treatment system, drill a well, or repair or replace your septic system. For more information on eligibility, contact the local NeighborWorks Group in your region.

Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants

This program offers loans and grants to existing homeowners for well construction, repair and sealing. It's administered by the Rural Development office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program is for low-income families who live in a rural area or a community with a population of 25,000 or less. The family income cannot exceed 50% of the median county income. Individuals who are 62 years of age or older may qualify for a grant or a combination of a loan and grant. Younger applicants are eligible only for loans.

Burlington, South Burlington, Essex Junction, Winooski and parts of Colchester are ineligible for the program. Even if your property is in an eligible area, your eligibility is still subject to income limits. For more information or to find out if your property is in an eligible area, call the USDA Rural Development Office at 802-828-6022.

Low-interest Loans for Individual Household Wells and Septic Systems

The Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SECAP) has partnered with RCAP Solutions (North Eastern Rural Community Assistance Partnership) to provide low-interest loans to construct, refurbish or replace individual water well systems and septic systems for eligible homeowners. Here are the requirements:

• Your residence must be in an eligible rural area, town, or community (defined as geographic area with 50,000 residents or less) in the RCAP Solutions service area of: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

• You must own (or provide recorded Lifetime Rights) and occupy the home being improved. 

• Your household limit is under the state median income limit.

• New home construction and community water systems are not eligible. 

Learn more about the loan program and fill out the form.

Please contact SERCAP staff for further information by phone at 540-345-1184 ext. 159 or email loanfund@sercap.org