Help Pls, High Level of Lead in Water in Our Area

Here's some basic info for you:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/di...

Sounds like... a real legal issue.... as well as health.
It has probably been going on for a long time....

Lead leaching into water/water sources... can come from a variety of sources....environmental/household pipes or soldering/water catchment/if it is artesian water or well water or rain/private wells/etc.... really, a variety of sources....

Call your Pediatrician and buy bottled water... and no, boiling water will NOT get rid of lead in it.

I would get the water in your home tested and then look for a good solution for you. I have a Brita filter on the faucet and that is good for me. My parents have invested in a water distilling system. Distilling removes everything but costs several hundred dollars plus the extra power every time you run it. Boiling just kills germs; it doesn't remove chemicals. Filters depend on the specifics as to what and how much they remove.

I would get a purification system for your home that is attached at your water-entry point. That way there's no lead residue left on your clothing or in your bath water.

Hi L.,

As far as the water company telling you about high levels of lead, you need to buy water. That's your cheapest route. The other option is a whole house filter that will cost more than $600.00 but closer to $3000. This is not something you want to play around with. Any heavy metal is dangerous but lead can cause a multitude of irreversible problems. I personally wouldn't be bathing in it either. All chemicals, as well as metals, absorb through the skin. This will take longer to poison you but it can, and will, do it eventually if your water supply stays like this.

God bless!

M.

PS Lead will not leech from pipes unless the minerals in the water sit on the pipes. If you have lead pipes, run the water for a few minutes before using it. That will make it safe for bathing AFTER the water dept says the water is safe again.

Boiling will NOT remove lead. And I wouldn't trust Brita to do it either. Switch to bottled water for now.
I wouldn't woryy too much. Historically all pipes were made of lead. (The word plumber comes from the latin word for lead.) Generations of people survived lead pipes.

A water filter is your best bet. Most bottled water is just tap water from somewhere else. Plus, bottled water is not tested or regulated so anything could be in there.
If your blood tests come back with elevated levels of lead, there are foods that help rid your body of heavy metals. Blackstrap molasses and cilantro are two I can think of now. You can research this on the web. We dealt with this when my daughter was little and were able to get her levels down very quickly.
Good luck and don't panic, you are taking the right steps.
D.

L. - I'm in your area and received the same letter. Please call Westview Water. We did, and found out that our home was not affected. It was only some homes that were affected - it depends on the type of pipe that goes from the street to your house. Find if there is a reason to be worried before you panic.

And, the water is safe to drink again now. If you want to protect against anything like this in the future, you could put a filter on your faucet for drinking water.

Lead has just recently been singled out as one of our "dangers", its been around forever and we've all been exposed to it.
When they say "high lead counts" it means that it's still safe for bathing but just has high counts and they are warning you about drinking it. In most cases our immune system and our own filter (our liver) takes care of us.
I would attend a town meeting and ask what they are going to do about this. You are obviously not going to be the only concerned citizen in the area.
Be very careful and leary about water purifier salesman that will most undoubtedly come knocking and trying to sell you an expensive system.
Get the facts from your city counsel before you spend big bucks on anything.
They may propose a new city tax to pay for some upgrade to your current fresh water plant to eliminate the problem or they will be redoing all of the piping in your area.... it's probably outdated lead pipe system that is causing the counts..... They just banned lead pipe in California last year. We all still have it, you just cant use it when building something new from now on.
No different than the banning of the dropside cribs of late.
I'd stock up on bottled water... or maybe have the Arrowhead or Sparkletts truck start servicing you. Tell the water company to lower your bill since you wont be drinking their swill anymore :)

Lead is NOT a chemical as one poster said, it is a heavy metal. Heavy metals can do alot of damage to the central nervous system. Go online and type in lead poisoning.
Mercury is a heavy metal also. It's symptoms of toxicity are the very same ones , line item by line item, to autism. So you can see this is no small matter.

Go on bottled water for now, get the water tested. I'm not sure brita can take out lead. I think reverse osmosis can do it but you have to double check that online.

Look up NCD ZEOLITE and ALPHA LIPOIC ACID, and LUGOLS IODINE as a means to help detox. be careful with detoxing children- go slow.

Usually municipal water supplies must be tested at regular intervals, so I doubt this has been a long time running issue.