Does my home have a lead pipe?

The recent announcement of $3 Billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to identify and replace lead pipes in the US might have you wondering about lead contaminating your drinking water. The single largest source of lead-water contamination in homes is often a lead service line, which brings water from the main city source into the house. And, North Carolina has an estimated 300,000 lead pipes, according to the EPA.

You might be wondering if you have lead pipes, and the answer isn’t always simple. If you live in Raleigh, Raleigh Water has stated on their website that “While Raleigh Water is not aware of any lead service lines in the service area, there may be galvanized iron service lines with lead components in neighborhoods where the water infrastructure was installed prior to 1960.” This NPR guide goes through the basic steps homeowners can take to determine if they have a lead service line. You can use this guide in many cases, although some are more complicated.

Even without a lead service line, there are likely sources of lead that pose a contamination risk.  Galvanized iron pipes and the faucets and plumbing valves in most people’s homes can also contain lead components, especially if your home is 10 or more years old. The limit on lead in plumbing and faucets was dramatically reduced as recently as 2014, and even some post 2014 taps can leach lead.

“Given the prevalence of lead in pipes and plumbing, we recommend that people use filters certified to remove lead from their drinking water and water used for cooking,” said John Rumpler, Clean Water Director for Environment America Research and Policy Center.

Filters are available for drinking water pitchers and for faucet-mount or under-sink installation. Homeowners should make sure that filters for their drinking water are certified to meet NSF/ANSI standards 53 for lead reduction and 42 for fine particulate. 

Available data indicates that lead contamination is also widespread in North Carolina child care centers. If you are concerned about lead in the drinking water at your child’s school or child care center, please see our Get the Lead Out toolkit.