Lead is a naturally-occurring metal that for most of the 20th Century was used regularly as a component of paint, piping (including water service lines), solder, brass, and until the 1980s, as a gasoline additive. Lead is no longer used in many of these products, but older products, such as paints and plumbing fixtures in older houses, that contain lead remain. EPA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that lead paint (and the contaminatined dust and soil it generates) is the leading source of lead exposure in older housing.

While lead is rarely present in water coming from our treatment plant, it can enter tap water through corrosion of some plumbing materials. The City of Lafayette proactively monitors for and adjusts the pH of its water to control corrosion.

A number of aggressive and successful steps have been taken in recent years to reduce the occurrence of lead in drinking water.

In 1986, Congress amended the national Safe Drinking Water Act to prohibit the use of pipe, solder or flux containing high lead levels.

The Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 led schools and day-care centers to repair or remove water coolers with lead-lined tanks. EPA provided guidance to inform and facilitate their action

You can't see, smell or taste lead in your water. Testing at the tap is the only way to measure the lead levels in your home or workplace.

Additional information can be obtained from the USEPA, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center for Environmental Health, the American Water Works Association and the National Safety Council.

Information provided by the American Water Works Association.