Test your water for lead

There is no safe amount of lead for a person to ingest. Lead usually enters our drinking water through the aged lead pipes, faucets, and other plumbing components.

Learn more about lead and its threat to your health here.

Testing is the only way to know if lead may be in your drinking water. National laws were implemented in 1988 which banned lead solder in plumbing lines, which is where lead most commonly enters drinking water. Some drinking water fixtures were manufactured with lead until 1996.

If you live in a home older than that, or in a community that used lead service lines in the past, it’s a good idea to be safe and test your water. You can find a lab to test your water or contact a plumber by visiting this DNR webpage.

If your water tests above the safe limits for lead, you should take measures to filter your water to lower levels or stop drinking your well water.

You can learn how to reduce your water’s lead exposure at this DNR webpage.

The most reliable way to fix water quality issues is to prevent drinking water pollution in the first place.