Lead and Copper in Drinking Water
Page Index
Rule Revision/Lead Service Line Inventories
Frequently asked Questions
Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act
Additional Resources
Rule Revision/Service Line Inventories
Click here for information about the new federal Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, including Lead Service Line Inventory guidance and tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Lead and Copper Enter a Drinking Water Supply?
Both lead and copper are metals commonly used in household plumbing and can enter a drinking water supply from corrosion of household plumbing systems. Less commonly, lead and copper can enter a drinking water supply from erosion of natural deposits in the earth.
What is the Standard for Lead and Copper in Drinking Water?
For most contaminants, EPA sets an enforceable regulation called a maximum contaminant level (MCL). However, because lead and copper contamination of drinking water often results from corrosion of the plumbing materials belonging to water system customers, EPA established a treatment technique rather than an MCL for lead and copper.
The lead and copper treatment technique regulation requires water systems to control the corrosiveness of their water. The Lead and Copper Rule defines the acceptable limits (action levels) for lead and copper in drinking water. 90 percent of a water system's service households must be below the following limits for lead and copper:
- The action level for copper is 1.3 ppm (milligrams per liter, mg/l).
- The action level for lead is 15 ppb (micrograms per liter, µg/l).
If more than 10% of tap water samples exceed the action level, water systems must take additional steps.
What are the Health Effects of Lead?
Infants and children: Delays in physical or mental development; children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities
Adults: Kidney problems; high blood pressure
What are the Health Effects of Copper?
Short term exposure: Gastrointestinal distress
Long term exposure: Liver or kidney damage
People with Wilson's Disease should consult their personal doctor if the amount of copper in their water exceeds the action level.
Which Public Water Systems Must Test for Lead and Copper?
Community and Non-Transient, Non-Community (NTNC) public water systems must test for lead and copper. Water systems that pass two consecutive six month rounds can go to an annual sampling schedule (Reduced Monitoring). The minimum number of samples they need to collect are also reduced (unless they are already collecting the minimum of five). Reduced monitoring samples must be collected in a summer month (June, July, August, or September). After the water system passes three annual rounds of lead and copper sampling, they can request to sample once every three years.
Water systems are responsible for the quality of their water to the customers' tap. Lead and copper samples must be a first draw tap sample or a lead service line sample, and are collected at the customers' homes, not at the water system's source. The Lead and Copper Rule requires the water system to select homes from high risk groups first. High risk structures include buildings with lead service lines, lead solder, or structures built between 1982 and 1987. The list of sites must be submitted to the Drinking Water Program and changes in the testing schedule must be documented. Information on choosing sampling site locations can be found in the Sample Site Selection guide for Community Water Systems and the Sample Site Selection Guide for Non-Community Water Systems (both PDF).
All community water systems are required to include a short informational statement in their Consumer Confidence Report regarding lead in drinking water. The mandatory language is available can be found on the Lead and Copper public education and notification page of this website.
How do I Collect Lead and Copper Samples?
Information on proper sampling techniques and procedures for Lead and Copper as well as guidance on how to select sampling site locations can be found on the Sampling Instructions page of this website.
I've collected lead and copper samples for my public water system. What are the next steps?
The Lead and Copper Rule [40 CFR §141.85(d)] requires all public water systems to provide the results of the lead sample taken to each consumer that collected a sample at the specific sample site from which the sample was taken. Consumer notification is required for each round of lead and copper tap monitoring.
NTNC systems such as schools and businesses can post the results in a conspicuous location, provided all consumers have access to the information.
Each public water system sampling for lead and copper must complete the Lead and Copper Consumer Notification Form (PDF) and provide a copy to each consumer as described above. In addition, each public water system must submit the Certification for Consumer Notification (PDF) to the Drinking Water Program within 30 days after the public water system is notified of the lead sampling results.
When test results for lead show that ninety percent of the samples are not at or below the EPA's action level of 15 ppb (parts per billion), a water system must conduct a Public Education Program within 60 days. All community water systems are also required to include a short informational statement in their Consumer Confidence Report regarding the lead exceedance.
What Happens if a Public Water System Exceeds EPA's Action Level for Lead?
When test results for lead show that ninety percent of the samples are not at or below the EPA's action level of 15 ppb (parts per billion), a water system must conduct a Public Education Program within 60 days. The public education program must be repeated annually, and the public service announcements must be repeated semiannually, until the water system completes a round of sampling with the 90th. percentile of lead level at or below the EPA's action level of 15 ppb.
Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act
In 2011 President Barack Obama signed into law the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (a.k.a., Lead Reduction Act), which amends Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Lead Reduction Act changes the definition of “lead-free” from 8.0 percent to 0.25 percent. The Lead Reduction Act took effect on January 4, 2014, and requires pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures to be “lead free”.
“It [is] unlawful for any person to introduce into commerce any pipe, or any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free” and “No person may use any pipe, any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture, any solder, or any flux, in the installation or repair of any public water system or any plumbing in a residential or nonresidential facility providing water for human consumption that is not lead free.” – From the Safe Drinking Water Act
Lead is not normally found in source water, but can enter drinking water systems through the corrosion of the pipes and plumbing fixtures. Regulatory efforts to reduce the presence of lead in drinking water tend to focus on the lead content of drinking water system components. The federal law applies to any product used in systems where water is anticipated to be used for human consumption.
U.S. EPA's, February 29, 2016 recommendations for collection of Lead and Copper samples and March 2016 Optimal Corrosion Control Treatment document can be found under the Highlights section EPA's Lead and Copper Rule webpage.
Additional Resources
Updated 4/28/2023