How do I know if I have a lead service line?

Call your water utility. Under the 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, utilities must maintain a full service line inventory and tell you your line's material when you ask. You can also inspect the pipe where it enters your home near the water meter. Lead pipes are dull gray and soft, scratch with a coin and you'll see shiny silver-colored metal beneath the surface. Copper is orange-red. Galvanized steel is magnetic.

Is my water safe if I have a lead service line?

Not necessarily. Lead leaches into water during contact time, so levels are highest in water that has sat in the pipes for several hours. Your utility's Consumer Confidence Report reflects distribution system samples, not your tap. The only way to know your tap level is to test it directly with a first-draw sample sent to a certified lab.

When will my lead service line be replaced?

Under the 2024 EPA Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, utilities must replace all lead service lines within 10 years. The timeline varies by utility, some have aggressive replacement programs already underway, others are just starting their inventories. Contact your utility directly to ask about replacement timelines for your address.

Does my landlord have to tell me if there's a lead service line?

Utilities must now notify customers when a lead service line serves their property. If you rent, that notice may go to your landlord rather than to you. Ask your landlord directly and request any lead testing data for the property. Some cities have renter-specific disclosure requirements, check your local housing code.

Does a Brita filter remove lead from water?

Standard Brita pitchers with the basic white filter are not NSF/ANSI 53 certified for lead reduction. Brita's Longlast+ filter (blue filter) is NSF 53 certified for lead and does reduce it at the tap. Always verify the specific filter model's NSF certification, the certification is on the filter, not the pitcher.

Lead Service Lines: Do You Have One and What Should You Do?

Medical disclaimer: Lead exposure is a serious health concern, especially for children under six and pregnant people. This page provides general information, not medical advice. Contact your pediatrician or healthcare provider about lead exposure concerns.

The EPA estimates about 9.2 million lead service lines are still in use across the United States. A service line is the pipe that connects the water main under your street to your home. Lead service lines were installed widely before 1986, when amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act banned them for new construction.

That ban was 40 years ago. A lot of those pipes are still in the ground.

What a Lead Service Line Actually Is

The service line runs from the street to your home’s internal plumbing. In most cities, the utility owns the portion from the main to the property line. The homeowner owns the portion from the property line to the house. Both sections can be lead.

Even homes without a lead service line can still have lead in their plumbing. Lead solder was used at copper pipe joints until Congress banned it in 1986. Older brass faucets can contain up to 8% lead (products made before 2014). “Lead-free” brass fixtures made after 2014 can still contain up to 0.25%.

The source of lead in your water isn’t the treatment plant. It’s the pipes and fixtures between the plant and your glass.

The 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements

The EPA finalized updated rules in October 2024. The key change: utilities must now identify and replace all lead service lines within 10 years. They must also maintain a full inventory of service line materials and notify customers when a lead service line serves their property.

That’s a meaningful improvement over the old rules. But 10 years is still 10 years. If your utility starts its replacement program today, you may wait until 2034. Interim protection matters.

How to Find Out if You Have One

Start with a phone call to your water utility. They’re required to have a service line inventory and must tell you your line’s material upon request. Many utilities have posted their inventories online.

The EPA also has an interactive map of lead service line data as utilities submit their inventory reports.

You can also do a physical check. Find the pipe where your water line enters the home, usually near the water meter in a basement, crawl space, or utility area. Here’s how to read the material:

Lead: dull gray, soft. Scratch it with a coin. You’ll see shiny metal below the surface.
Copper: orange-red or brown with age.
Galvanized steel: gray and magnetic. A magnet sticks to it.
Plastic: it’s plastic.

If the section you can inspect is one material, check whether there’s a different material on the street side. Partial lead service lines, where only one portion is lead, are common and still a risk.

Why Your CCR Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Your utility mails or posts a Consumer Confidence Report every year. It shows lead test results from the distribution system. Those results come from a sample of homes selected under the Lead and Copper Rule, not from every tap.

Your tap level depends on your specific service line material, your internal plumbing, your water’s chemistry, and how long water sits in pipes before you use it. The utility’s reported average can be well below 15 ppb while individual taps in older homes run higher.

The only way to know your tap’s lead level is to test it. How to Test Your Tap Water for Lead covers the first-draw protocol and certified lab options.

First-Draw vs. After-Flush Lead Levels

Lead levels are highest in water that has sat in pipes for six or more hours. A glass of water poured first thing in the morning, before anyone has run a tap, is a first-draw sample. It captures whatever the pipe leached overnight.

After flushing cold water for 30 to 60 seconds, lead levels drop significantly because you’ve pushed the standing water through and pulled water from a part of the system with less contact time.

This doesn’t make flushing a permanent fix. It reduces the exposure from that single use. Do it consistently if you have a lead service line or suspect old plumbing.

Always use cold water, not hot. Hot water dissolves more lead from pipes and solder. Never use hot tap water for cooking or infant formula.

Who Faces the Highest Risk

There is no known safe level of lead for children. The CDC’s current blood lead reference value is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, used to identify children for follow-up, not to define a safe threshold. Any detectable lead exposure in young children is worth taking seriously.

Infants fed formula mixed with tap water are at higher risk than older children and adults, because formula concentrate is mixed with water. If you have a lead service line and an infant in the home, filtered or bottled water for formula preparation is a reasonable precaution while you wait for replacement.

Pregnant people should also minimize lead exposure. Lead crosses the placenta.

What to Do Now

If you don’t know your service line material, call your utility this week. Ask them directly. If they can’t tell you, ask how to access the service line inventory or request a physical inspection.

If you have a lead service line confirmed, or if you suspect old interior plumbing:

Flush cold water for 30 to 60 seconds before using water from a tap that hasn’t run in several hours.
Never cook or mix formula with hot tap water.
Get a certified lab first-draw lead test done on your kitchen tap. It costs $15 to $40.
Install an NSF/ANSI 53-certified filter on your kitchen tap for drinking and cooking water.

An NSF/ANSI 53-certified filter is the fastest available protection. It doesn’t fix the pipe, but it removes lead at the point you use the water. The treatment section covers filter types and certifications.

Lead service line replacement is the only permanent solution. Until your line is replaced, filtered water at the point of use is the practical answer.

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Medical disclaimer: WaterAnswer.com provides general information only. Lead health concerns, especially for children and pregnant people, warrant consultation with a pediatrician or healthcare provider.