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Facts About Lead Levels and
Fairfax Water's System
How much lead is present?
In 2008 (the last Lead and Copper Rule
sampling period for the Water Authority) the 90th percentile value
for lead was 0.77 part per billion (ppb) compared to the EPA Action
Level of 15 ppb.
Lead content in drinking water is regulated by the
EPA with the Lead and Copper Rule. The Lead and Copper Rule sets
specific testing requirements and action levels, levels that require
special treatment for public water systems. Fairfax Water has been
testing for lead in accordance with this rule since 1992. Fairfax
Water's water has consistently tested below the action level established
in the Lead and Copper Rule. Because the lead level measured within
Fairfax Water's system has been consistently below the EPA Action
Level, the testing frequency requirement has been reduced from
testing every year to testing every three years. The next required
sampling period under the Lead and Copper Rule is the summer of
2008.
How does lead get into my
water?
Lead in drinking water can come from source waters or from pipes
and valves within the distribution system, or from household plumbing.
Fairfax Water’s source waters do not contain significant
amounts of lead.
Fairfax Water’s distribution system does not contain lead
pipe. Fairfax Water has made an extensive effort to identify and
replace any lead service connections in the older areas of its
system.
What about lead pipes or lead solder in my household plumbing?
Household plumbing systems may provide a source for lead exposure
to drinking water. Prior to 1986, lead pipe and solder may have
been used in some household plumbing. In 1986, lead was banned from
being used in pipe and solder. If your home was built prior to 1986,
it is a good idea to let your cold water run from the faucet for
60 seconds to 90 seconds prior to using for drinking or cooking.
Saving the water for other purposes, such as plant watering, is
a good conservation measure. It is difficult to know exactly how
long it takes the "fresh" water from the street water
main pipes to arrive at the faucet. The time needed varies depending
on your specific location, type of plumbing, and type of facility
[for example whether you live in a single-family home, or are using
water from an apartment]. A change in temperature flowing from the
cold water faucet typically indicates "fresh water" from
the main has reached the faucet. Otherwise, two minutes is usually
enough for most homes.
What is Fairfax Water
doing to help?
We add a corrosion inhibitor to help prevent lead from leaching
into your water. Fairfax Water has been using a phosphate-based corrosion inhibitor since 1998 and
adjusts the finished water pH in the treatment process to minimize
corrosion from household plumbing.
How do I know which water utility serves
my home or office?
The Metropolitan Washington
Council of Governments, a regional organization of Washington area
local governments, has some useful information about lead and drinking
water, including an interactive map showing water service areas
for the entire Metro area.
Here are links
to information available on MWCOG's website,
Health Impacts
Infants and young children are typically more vulnerable to lead
in drinking water than the general population. It is possible that
lead levels at your home may be higher than at other homes in the
community as a result of materials used in your home’s plumbing.
If you are concerned about potential elevated lead levels in your
home’s water, simply flush the tap for 60 to 90 seconds prior to
using for cooking or drinking.
More information about
lead may be found at the following links,
Can you have the water
in your house tested?
Yes. For information on having a lead level test conducted, call
our Customer Service Department at (703)698-5800. The charge for
lead level testing of your home’s water is $35.00 per faucet.
Additional information is available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water
Hotline
(800-426-4791).
Additional Information
When purchasing new plumbing fixtures or solder, you should check
with the supplier about the potential lead content in these materials.
Lead pipe has not been used in household plumbing for many years
so homes in Fairfax County should not have lead pipes. You should
check with a plumber if your plumbing is more than 40 years old.
Where lead is present in pipe and solder connections, it may dissolve
into the water after the water sits for long periods of time.
Fairfax Water adds a corrosion inhibitor (zinc orthophosphate)
to slow down this dissolution process. When Fairfax Water tests
water for lead, we sample water which has been in the pipes for
a least 6 hours and then test again after flushing the same line.
This helps determine if our corrosion inhibitor treatment method
is effective.
Some home treatment equipment [lead removing filters, reverse
osmosis systems, sometimes called RO systems, and distillation
units] removes lead dissolved in water. One must check to see
whether the performance of these products has been tested by independent
testing and certifying organizations following the appropriate
methods contained in the appropriate ANSI/NSF "Drinking Water
Treatment Unit" standard.
More information about lead levels and other characteristics of
the water distributed by Fairfax Water can be found in our Annual
Report on Water Quality.
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