• Home >
• Your home >
• Your water quality & hardness >
• Lead pipes

Lead pipes

• Is there lead in our drinking water?
• Whilst the water we provide from the mains in the street is wholesome and virtually lead free, lead can be picked up if it passes through a lead service pipe, which connects the water main to your house.
• Lead can also be picked up from internal lead plumbing or certain other plumbing fittings. Lead was generally used for water pipes up to the 1970s. Properties built since the 1970s are unlikely to have lead pipes – copper and plastic being the most commonly used materials. Some types of water, especially soft water, can pick up lead from pipes. Water is treated to reduce this but sometimes deposits of lead can build up in pipes.
• The current regulatory standard for lead in drinking water is 25 micrograms per litre (equivalent to 25 parts per billion). Whilst there is no short-term risk to health from lead at these levels, the Department of Health advises that action should be taken by customers to reduce lead levels to as low as possible and certainly below the 25 micrograms per litre standard. This is particularly important if the water is regularly drunk by young children or pregnant women.

• How do I know if I have lead pipes?
• If the pipes in your home are dull grey and can be scraped with a knife to produce a shiny silver coloured metal, then there is a possibility that you have lead pipes. If your home was built before 1970 and has not been modernised it is likely to have lead pipes.

• How can I reduce the levels of lead in my water?
• To reduce the levels of lead in your water, you should not use the hot tap for drinking and cooking. Ensure the cold water tap is run so that any water that has stood in the pipes for a long time i.e overnight or several hours in the day is eliminated from the domestic pipework. The most effective way is to replace any lead pipework.

• I have lead pipes, can you change them for me?
• The part of the pipe from the water main in the street to the property boundary, including the mains stop tap and meter is our responsibility, whilst all other pipes and fittings belong to the property owner. If you suspect you have lead pipe and are concerned about the level of lead in the water, we can arrange for samples to be taken to help decide on the actions to be taken to reduce the lead level in your supply.

Back to top