[Narrator] You've probably heard a lot about
lead in drinking water.
And you're probably wondering,
how do you find out if you have a potential problem?
What I want to talk about today
is some of the ways that you can figure out
if you potentially have lead in your drinking water,
and what you can do about it if you do.
A lot of people don't think about
how water gets into their house,
but lead service lines are the pipes
that connect your home to the water main
that runs below the street in front of your house.
These service lines deliver drinking water to your tap.
Millions of homes across the U.S. have service lines
made of toxic lead that can contaminate the water
that runs through the pipe.
You may have a lead service line
if the water pipe coming into your home
from outside is grayish in color,
a magnet won't stick to it,
or, when you scratch the pipe with a coin,
it leaves a shiny silvery mark.
Your local water utility may also have records
or be able to conduct an in-home inspection
to see if you have a lead service line.
If you believe you have a lead service line,
you should get your water tested
and use a water filter certified to remove lead
until the line is replaced.
If you do have a lead service line,
what can you do about it?
The only long-term solution to protect public health
is to remove these lead pipes
and to replace them with copper pipes.
Contact your local utility to see if it has a program
to replace your lead service line for free
or at reduced cost.
Some utilities may recommend that homes
with lead service lines run or flush their water
before using it to reduce exposure
from the lead service line.
While the recommendation for each home might vary,
flushing your line may require running your water
for five minutes or more to eliminate all the water
that was sitting in that lead service line.
If you're concerned about wasting water,
you can capture the water
and use it to clean or water your plants.
The important thing to remember is removing the entire
lead service line is how to protect your drinking water.
Some cities or utilities actually only replace
a portion of the lead pipe that runs from the water main
to the curb in front of your house.
Or they may leave in the connectors that contain lead.
But this partial replacement of a lead service line
can actually make the problem worse,
and often can dramatically increase
levels of lead in tap water.
If you learn your utility or water department
intends to replace only a portion of your lead service line,
ask for resources to help you replace
the entire lead service line.
If you do have a full service line replacement,
the construction could still disturb the water pipes
and loosen some lead particles inside the pipes.
It's important to be sure, immediately after the replacement,
to follow the instructions from the utility
about flushing the pipes to remove any of the lead particles
that may have ended up in the water.
Also, continue to use a water filter
certified to remove lead,
or bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Be sure to do that for at least the next six months.
For those who ended up getting a partial
lead service line replacement,
it's important to be vigilant
because there is still water running through lead pipes.
Be sure to follow your water utility's
instructions to flush your water pipes
and be sure to do that for at least the next six months.
Also, continue to use a water filter
certified to remove lead,
or bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Get your water tested regularly.
But in the end, it is most important to have
all of the lead pipes removed from your house.
Continue to look for opportunities to do
a full replacement of your lead service line.