City of Oneida Water Department and Lead in your Drinking Water

Oneida Water Department

What you should know about…

LEAD IN YOUR DRINKING WATER

To Our Customers:

The New York State Health Department and the City of Oneida Water Department are concerned about lead in your drinking water. Although most homes have very low levels of lead, more than 10 percent of those sampled exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb), or 0.015 milligrams of lead per liter of water (mg/L). The City of Oneida Water Department has implemented a program to minimize lead leaching into drinking water. This program includes:

Corrosion control treatment
Lead Service Replacement
Public education.

We are replacing each lead service line that we control, from the main to the curb box. If our records indicated that your home is serviced by a lead service line, it will be replaced over the next eleven- (11) years. (Service lines are the pipes that bring water from the water main in the street to your home. See drawing.) Remember-not every home has a lead contamination problem. Most people have low levels of lead in their drinking water. But because you cannot see, taste, or smell lead, testing the water is the only way to know for sure whether or not you have a problem. We can help. In this newsletter, we tell you how and where to get your water tested. We also explain the simple steps you can take to protect yourself and your family by reducing your exposure to lead from drinking water. If you have any questions about how we are carrying out the requirements of the lead regulations, or want more information about what you can do, please give us a call at 363-1490.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF LEAD:

Lead is a common, natural, and often useful metal found throughout the environment in lead based paint, air, soil, household dust, food, certain types of pottery porcelain and pewter, and water. Lead can pose a significant risk to your health if too much of it enters your body. Lead builds up in the body over many years and can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells, and kidneys. The greatest risk is to young children and pregnant women. Amounts of lead that won't hurt adults can slow down normal mental and physical development of growing bodies of children. In addition, a child at play often comes into contact with sources of lead contamination like dirt and dust that rarely affect an adult. If a child puts dirty fingers into his mouth (as most children do), some lead may be absorbed into the child's system. It is important to wash children's hands and toys often, and to try to make sure they only put food into their mouths.

LEAD IN DRINKING WATER:

(i) Lead is unusual among drinking water contaminants in that it seldom occurs naturally in water supplies like rivers and lakes. Lead enters drinking water primarily as a result of the corrosion, or wearing away, of materials containing lead in the water distribution system and household plumbing. These materials include lead-based solder used to join copper pipe, brass and chrome plated brass faucets, and in some cases, pipes made of lead that connect your house to the water main (service lines).

In 1986, Congress banned the use of lead solder containing greater than 0.2% lead and restricted the lead content of faucets, pipes, and other plumbing materials to 8.0%.

When water stands in lead pipes or plumbing systems containing lead for several hours or more, the lead may dissolve into your 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.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE IN THE HOME TO REDUCE EXPOSURE TO LEAD IN DRINKING WATER:

(i) Despite our best efforts mentioned earlier to control water Corrosivity and remove lead from the water supply, lead levels in some homes or buildings can be high. To find out whether you need to take action in your own home, have your drinking water tested to determine if it contains excessive concentrations of lead. Testing the water is essential because you cannot see, taste, or smell lead in drinking water.

(ii) If a water test indicates that the drinking water drawn from a tap in your home contains lead above 15 ppb, then you should take the following precautions: