Collectively, the water-systems industry has been working to reduce dangerous lead in drinking water for more than 50 years. It might be shocking to hear that we still have nearly 10 million lead pipes carrying water into homes across the United States. Until 1986, lead piping was extremely common in the installation of home service lines—and these lines are the target of recent legislation aimed at further reducing lead levels in drinking water.
But here is what water-treatment professionals need to tell homeowners: While new standards will create safer drinking water in the long term, the changes present short-term risks of increased lead in home drinking water. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead is a toxic metal that can cause a host of dire health issues in humans, so these risks make an in-home, point-of-use (POU) water filtration system more valuable than ever.
A History of Safe Drinking Water Regulations
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed in 1974 and has been continually updated and amended over the last 50 years. One of the most notable changes was the addition of the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) in 1991. Arguably the most important standard governing the 68,000 public water systems nationwide, the LCR set the maximum allowable lead level at 15 parts per billion (ppb), which was later reduced to 10 ppb.
In 2019, we saw the biggest change to the SDWA in three decades: The maximum allowable lead level in filtered water was reduced from 10 ppb to 5 ppb. In 2023, the EPA released Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements that require cities to create a publicly available inventory of remaining lead service lines by October 2024. Starting in October 2024, cities must also test the water in all homes, day cares, and schools. Cities must make a goal-based remediation plan for all homes with lead levels above 10 ppb—and must have accelerated remediation plans for all homes with lead levels above 15 ppb.
Not surprisingly, the combination of lower allowable lead levels and increased public reporting requirements have fast-tracked efforts to replace lead service lines across the country. Chicago, for example, has hundreds of thousands of lead service lines to replace and expects the process to take 10 to 15 years. The city of New York has opted to institute its own higher standards for drinking-water safety, including the mitigation of PFAS and other contaminants, in addition to lead. The problem is particularly acute in Florida, which leads the nation with an estimated 1.16 million lead service pipes.
Des Moines Water Works recently began sending communications regarding these concerns in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Clive, Ankeny, Urbandale and any other suburb using DMWW. Lead pipe information can be found at the following link https://www.dmww.com/water_service/service_lines/lead_reduction_pilot.php