Lead Information
Lead in Water
The Health Risks Of Lead
Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters your body from drinking water or other sources. There is no safe level of lead in children or adults.
Lead can cause damage to the brain and kidneys, and can interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of your body. The greatest risk of lead exposure is to infants, young children, and pregnant women. You can be exposed to lead from lead-based paints, soil, dust, water that comes in contact with lead pipes or plumbing, or more.
Lead is stored in the bones, and it can be released later in life. During pregnancy, the child receives lead from the mother's bones, which may affect brain development.
The EPA estimates that up to 20% of potential exposure to lead may come from drinking water. Infants who consume mostly formula mixed with lead-containing water receive up to 60% of the lead exposure from drinking water.
Lead In Drinking Water
Lead is not present in the water supplied to you.
However, when water sits in contact with lead pipes or plumbing for several hours, the lead may enter the drinking water. This means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning, or later in the afternoon after returning from work or school, can contain fairly high levels of lead.
How To Reduce The Risk Of Lead In Your Drinking Water
If you think there may be lead in your drinking water, here are steps you can take to reduce your risks.
- Run your cold water for 5 minutes or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or cooking, if it hasn't been used for several hours. This flushes lead-containing water from the pipes. Flushing usually uses less than one or two gallons of water and costs less than 30 cents per month.
- Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Do not cook with or drink water from the hot water tap; lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Do not use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.
- Test your water for lead. If you think you may have lead pipes, fittings or fixtures in your home, contact the PVWC Customer Service Department anytime at 973-340-4300.
- Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
- Get your child's blood tested. If you're concerned about exposure, contact your local health department or healthcare provider to find out how you can get your child tested for lead.
- Find out if your service line is made of lead. The customer-owned service line runs from the curb box to your home. Call our Customer Service Department at 973-340-4300 and we'll explain the steps to take to find out if you have a lead service line in your home.
How Does Lead Get In Your Drinking Water?
Lead is not present in the water supplied to you. But lead can enter drinking water when it comes in contact with lead pipes or plumbing that have lead corrosion. The risks of lead entering the drinking water is elevated if the water has high acidity or low mineral content.
Corrosion occurs as lead pipes and plumbing fixtures wear away from a chemical reaction between the water and the lead plumbing. A number of factors determine the extent to which lead enters the water, including:
- the acidity and alkalinity of the water; the amount of lead the water comes into contact with
- water temperature;
- the amount of wear in the pipes;
- how long the water sits in the pipes;
- and, the presence of protective coatings.
When drinking water comes in contact with lead pipes and plumbing, for extended periods of time, corroded lead particles can enter your drinking water.
Reducing The Risk Of Lead In Drinking Water
Since there is no lead in the drinking water that we deliver to you, we take a number of steps to prevent lead from entering the water as it reaches your home. Our efforts include applying special water treatments, replacing lead pipes within our system, and educating consumers about ways to protect themselves from lead.
Open Reservoirs Increase The Risks Of Lead In Water
To prevent lead from entering the water after it leaves our facilities, we apply treatments that coat the pipes to keep lead from leaching in to the drinking water.
Unfortunately, we can't apply those treatments on water that will be stored in open reservoirs and exposed to direct sunlight, such as Levine or New Street reservoirs. When treated water is exposed to sunlight, algae blooms could form and make all the water unusable.
Because of that, open reservoirs are a roadblock to reducing the risk of lead in drinking water. It's also among the most important reasons for storing treated drinking water in enclosed water tanks.
Water From Open Reservoirs Poses A Health Risk
In addition to the risk of post-treatment contamination, storing drinking water in open reservoirs creates unnecessary health risks to consumers. Repeated tests have shown that water from the Levine and New Street reservoirs is 3 times more likely to result in elevated lead levels in the drinking water.
Lead In Drinking Water Occurs On A Building-By-Building Situation
Because there is no lead in the water when it leaves the treatment plant, lead can only -leach into the water if/when it comes in contact with lead pipes, plumbing or fixtures. Water sitting in the water main in the street doesn't contain lead. It's when the water comes in contact with a lead service line, (PVWC- or Customer-owned) or lead solder, or lead in fixtures that lead enters the drinking water.
As a result, it's very likely that one building can have lead in the drinking water while the neighboring building may not. So, when lead is discovered in the water of one home, it doesn't mean that all the houses in the neighborhood have will lead in the water. If those particular homes were constructed during the same time period by the same contractor, there is a higher potential for multiple neighboring homes to have the same situation.
Do You Have Lead Plumbing In Your Home?
What You Should Do If You Think There's Lead Plumbing In Your Home
Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have pipes and plumbing containing lead. Lead may exist in your service line, internal plumbing, lead solder, faucets or fixtures. If you suspect there are lead pipes or plumbing in your home, take these steps.
Test Your Water For Elevated Lead Levels
Lead exposure can come from water that has been in contact with lead pipes or plumbing. If you think there may be lead in your drinking water, you should contact us and ask for a free lead testing kit. We'll test your water and let you know the results.
Check And Replace Your Service Line
PVWC will be replacing 6500 lead service lines in the towns of Passaic, Paterson, Clifton and Prospect Park starting in the Fall of 2022 at no cost to the customer. To find out more visit: https://www.pvwcleadserviceline.com/. Currently, customers living in North Arlington, Lodi, High Crest, Post Brook, Woodland Park are required to pay for replacing a lead service line on private property if the portion of the service line within the public right-of-way (main to curb) is non-lead.
Have Your Children Tested
Consult your doctor or call your local Health Department for advice on testing children. A simple blood test can detect lead.
Check The Plumbing In Your Home
Your local building/code department may be able to provide you with information about building permit records that may contain information on your home's plumbing materials. For more information, please call your municipal office.
Learn more about lead, the risks and how you can protect your family. For more information, contact any of the following agencies:
- The National Lead Information Center 1-800-424-5323
- EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791
- Consumer Product Safety Commission 1-800-638-2772
- Visit the EPA at www.epa.gov/lead
Our Plan To Reduce The Risk Of Lead In Your Water
We recognize the importance of providing our customers with clean, quality drinking water. That's why we're taking steps to reduce the risk of lead in your drinking water. Here's what we're doing...
Remove All PVWC-Owned Lead Service Lines
We began removing our utility-owned lead service lines in the 1980s. Since then, we've removed more than 34,800 lead service lines from our system. Fewer than 200 utility-owned lead service lines are still in use and we are actively working to replace them. We anticipate that all utility-owned lead service lines will be replaced within 2021.
Assist Property Owners To Remove Lead Service Lines
Replacing utility-owned lead service lines is just one part of the solution. We estimate that as many as 15,000 homes in our service area still have customer-owned lead service lines in use.
Customer-owned service lines bring water from our water mains to the property. They are generally small in diameter and run from the curb stop to the water meter.
If you have a lead service line, we may be able to help you replace it at little or no cost. For more information, contact Customer Service at 973-340-4300.
Replace Our Open Water Reservoirs
One of the most important steps to reducing the risk of lead in drinking water is to replace our open water reservoirs with enclosed water storage tanks. This will allow us to treat the drinking water to reduce the risk of lead leaching into the water if it comes in contact with lead pipes and plumbing.
Not Sure What Type Of Plumbing Is In Your Home?
Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have plumbing containing lead or lead solder. New homes may also have lead. Even brass faucets, fittings, and valves, including those advertised as "lead-free" may contain some lead. More information at Lead in Drinking Water
Learn About The Risks Of Lead
There is no safe level of lead for children or adults. Lead exposure can come from lead-based paints, soil, dust, or water that comes in contact with lead pipes or plumbing. More information at Learn About The Risks Of Lead
Lead Service Lines
The "service line" brings water from our pipe into your home. Thousands of homes in Paterson, Clifton and Passaic still have lead service lines. Do you? More information at Check Your Address for Lead Service Line
Check The Plumbing In Your Home
Not sure what type of plumbing is in your home? Here's one way to make sure your family is safe. More information at Check The Plumbing In Your Home
Free Lead Testing
Worried there may be lead in your drinking water? More information at Lead Testing Kits
Important Information About Lead in Your Drinking Water
Passaic Valley Water Commission found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in some homes/buildings. Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Please read this information closely to see what you can do to reduce lead in your drinking water.
Health Effects of Lead
Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters your body from drinking water or other sources. It can cause damage to the brain and kidneys and can interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of your body. The greatest risk of lead exposure is to infants, young children, and pregnant women. Scientists have linked the effects of lead on the brain with lowered IQ in children. Adults with kidney problems and high blood pressure can be affected by low levels of lead more than healthy adults. Lead is stored in the bones, and it can be released later in life. During pregnancy, the child receives lead from the mother's bones, which may affect brain development.
Sources of Lead
Lead is a common metal found in the environment. Drinking water is one possible source of lead exposure. The main sources of lead exposure are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust or soil, and some plumbing materials. In addition, lead can be found in certain types of pottery, pewter, brass plumbing fixtures, food, and cosmetics. Other sources include exposure in the workplace and exposure from certain hobbies (lead can be carried on clothing or shoes). Lead is found in some toys, some playground equipment, and some children's metal jewelry.
Lead Is Not Present in the Water Supplied to You
When water has been in contact with pipes or plumbing that contains lead for several hours, the lead may enter drinking water. This means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning, or later in the afternoon after returning from work or school, can contain fairly high levels of lead.
Homes built before 1985 are more likely to have plumbing containing lead. New homes may also have lead or lead solder. Even brass faucets, fittings, and valves, including those advertised as "lead-free" may contain some lead.
The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011, changed the definition of "lead-free" from not more than 8%, to a weighted average of not more than 0.25% lead when used with respect to wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures. Visit the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) website at www.nsf.org to learn more about lead-containing plumbing fixtures.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 10 to 20 percent of a person's potential exposure to lead may come from drinking water. Infants who consume mostly formula mixed with lead-containing water can receive 40 to 60 percent of their exposure to lead from drinking water.
Don't forget about other sources of lead such as lead paint, lead dust, and lead in soil. Wash your children's hands and toys often as they can come into contact with dirt and dust containing lead.
Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Exposure to Lead in Your Water
Run your water to flush out lead. Run your cold water for 30 seconds to 2 minutes or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or cooking if it hasn't been used for several hours. This flushes lead-containing water from the pipes. Flushing usually uses less than one or two gallons of water and costs less than 30 cents per month.
Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Do not cook with or drink water from the hot water tap; lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Do not use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.
Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
Look for alternative sources or treatment of water. You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter. If purchasing a water filter, read the package to be sure the filter is approved to reduce lead. You can also contact NSF International at 800-NSF-8010 or visit their website at www.nsf.org for information on performance standards for water filters. Be sure to maintain and replace a filter device in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions to protect water quality.
Test your water for lead. Call PVWC at 973-340-4300 to find out how to get your water tested for lead or for a list of local laboratories that have been certified for testing lead.
Get your child's blood tested. Contact your local health department or healthcare provider to find out how you can get your child tested for lead if you are concerned about exposure. Your family doctor or pediatrician can perform a blood test for lead and provide you with information about the health effects of lead.
Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead. A licensed plumber can check to see if your home's plumbing contains lead solder, lead pipes, or pipe fittings that contain lead. Your local building/code department can provide you with information about building permit records that should contain the names of plumbing contractors who plumbed your home.
Find out if your service line is made of lead. PVWC maintains records of PVWC-owned materials, such as service lines (water main to curb box), located in the distribution system. Contact our Customer Service Department at 973-340- 4300 for service line materials records.
What Happened? What Is Being Done?
Tap water monitoring results from our most recent monitoring study, which took place August through November of 2016, revealed elevated lead levels in some homes/buildings in Paterson, Clifton, Passaic and Prospect Park.
We believe the use of open reservoirs to store treated drinking water contributes to the problem. Open reservoirs prevent the use of phosphate-based corrosion inhibitors, which form a coating on lead pipes, fittings and fixtures to reduce the risk of lead leaching into your drinking water.
PVWC Is Taking Steps to Correct the Problem
- Working to remove all open reservoirs from our system. Open reservoirs are a roadblock to reducing the risk of lead in the drinking water and must be removed from our system. Once all open reservoirs have been replaced, the entire system will receive corrosion control treatment.
- Monitoring the system twice per year through voluntary public involvement in accordance with the requirements of the EPA and NJ Department of Environmental Protection.
- Replacing lead service lines. At one time, there were as many as 34,000 PVWC-owned lead service lines in the system. Over the past few years, we've replaced all but a few hundred of those pipes and expect to remove the remaining PVWC-owned lead service lines in the next two years.
- Testing the system on a weekly and monthly basis for parameters that indicate how the corrosion control treatment systems are working.
- Continuing our lead public awareness campaign to keep you informed. Lead information as well as progress updates on the installation of corrosion control treatment is provided each year in our annual water quality report. This report can be found on our Water Quality Report page.
Additional Information
For more information, call us at 973-340-4300, email us at [email protected] or visit the PVWC website. For more information on reducing lead exposure around your home/building and the health effects of lead, visit EPA's website or contact your health care provider.
For additional EPA resources on lead in drinking water contact:
- EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791
- National Lead Information Center at 800-424-LEAD (5323)
Your family doctor or pediatrician can perform a blood test for lead and provide you with information about the health effects of lead.
Your local building/code department may be able to provide you with information about building permit records that may contain information on your home's plumbing materials. Please contact your local municipal office at the following numbers:
- Clifton Building Department: 973-470-5809
- Passaic Code Enforcement: 973-365-5549
- Paterson Building Department: 973-321-1232
- Prospect Park Building Department: 973-970-7902
USA Today motion graphic showing how lead can get into your drinking water
PVWC offers lead sample testing free of charge to all of our customers. To have your water tested, please contact our Customer Service Department at 973-340-4300, during regular business hours to schedule a home visit. Our field technician will then visit your home to drop off a water sample bottle and also perform a free evaluation to determine if your incoming water service line contains lead.
Learn more about PVWC's Lead Service Line Replacement Program