Here's why you got a letter about lead water pipes in your Philadelphia home — and what you should do next
Scott O'Hara was confused when he first opened a letter from the Philadelphia Water Department stating he may have lead water service lines coming into his South Philly home.
"What are our options?" he said. "There's not a whole lot of information."
O'Hara and his partner Carly Agre say they worry about the potential health risk for their young son. They have a filter installed on their kitchen sink until they're able to learn more about the material of their service line.
"Mostly just because we have a toddler," Agre said. "Just knowing how dangerous lead exposure could be, we just wanted to take the extra precaution."
The letter was one of half a million recently mailed out in Philadelphia alone. So why did you receive one and what should you do about it?
Under new federal requirements, water utilities must now notify residents about the possibility of lead in their water service line — the pipe that connects your home to the water main.
It's the latest move in an effort to eliminate lead from drinking water in response to the Flint, Michigan, water crisis in 2014, said Stephanie Wein, a clean water advocate with the environmental group PennEnvironment.
"We do know a century ago, and before, lead was the standard, so it's reasonable to expect a lot of homes would still be served by lead service lines," Wein said. "Lead is a potent neurotoxin and poses a huge developmental risk, especially to babies and young children."
Municipalities must also find, dig up and replace all lead pipes within the next decade in order to be compliant with these federal regulations, known as the Lead and Copper Rule.
In Philadelphia, the city says it has never used lead for its water mains but the service lines that bring water from the main to customers' properties may contain lead.
"This is part of an extensive, nationwide effort," said Brian Rademaekers, the Philadelphia Water Department's spokesperson. "The big challenge for us here in Philadelphia and across the country is that piece of pipe, that piece of plumbing, is owned by the customer."
If you do have a lead line, the city maintains its corrosive control treatments help protect your water as they've been shown to keep lead levels below federal standards in 90% or more of the city's homes.
Residents in Philadelphia can see if their property is connected through a lead service line by searching their address in this interactive map the city released last fall.
There's just one problem: The material of most of the city's service lines remains a mystery.
"The reason that so many are unknown is because we need to be able to see inside the house, under the sidewalk and under the street, so three different sections of that pipe need to be examined," Rademaekers said.
Rademaekers estimates roughly one in every 20 properties — that's 5% — might have a lead service line. The Philadelphia Water Department can test your water for free to determine if you have lead pipes. He said the city is compiling its inventory through historical records, meter upgrades and resident reporting.
The cost to replace a lead service line can be upward of $10,000, according to Robert Ballenger, an attorney specializing in utilities at Community Legal Services. The federal government has allocated more than $25 billion for lead pipe replacement, but the EPA estimates the cost nationally could eclipse $45 billion. Ballenger says more federal and state support is needed.
"It's in the thousands of dollars to replace a lead service line," Ballenger said. "The question is how does a city pay for that? And my concern is that like many of the projects the city is doing that relate to our water infrastructure, that this is going to fall on the backs of rate payers."
Rademaekers says Philadelphia is working to secure more grants and bonds but admits rate increases are possible.
"Even the cost of creating this inventory and putting that map out there and mailing out those letters, that's an expensive proposition and it is something that is paid for through rates," he said. "It's one of many different obligations that we're juggling right now."
For now, it falls on the property owner to cover the cost to replace a lead service line, unless it's connected to a water main that's already being replaced or repaired. The city offers interest-free loans to property owners for lead service line replacement.
In the meantime, the city and health advocates urge those living at one of the hundreds of thousands of "unknown" addresses to take precautions, like using a National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certified filter, only using cold water for cooking and drinking, and flushing pipes regularly.
"Before you have that first glass of water or fill up your coffee pot in the morning, first run that tap," Wein said. "That way any of that stagnant water that sat overnight, that's all flushed out, and that's the best way to ensure in case there is lead in the system that you're moving that out."
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Here's why you got a letter about lead water pipes in your Philadelphia home — and what you should do next
Scott O'Hara was confused when he first opened a letter from the Philadelphia Water Department stating he may have lead water service lines coming into his South Philly home. "What are our options?" he said. "There's not a whole lot of information." O'Hara and his partner Carly Agre say they worry about the potential health risk for their young son. They have a filter installed on their kitchen sink until they're able to learn more about the material of their service line. "Mostly just because we have a toddler," Agre said. "Just knowing how dangerous lead exposure could be, we just wanted to take the extra precaution." The letter was one of half a million recently mailed out in Philadelphia alone. So why did you receive one and what should you do about it? Under new federal requirements, water utilities must now notify residents about the possibility of lead in their water service line — the pipe that connects your home to the water main. It's the latest move in an effort to eliminate lead from drinking water in response to the Flint, Michigan, water crisis in 2014, said Stephanie Wein, a clean water advocate with the environmental group PennEnvironment. "We do know a century ago, and before, lead was the standard, so it's reasonable to expect a lot of homes would still be served by lead service lines," Wein said. "Lead is a potent neurotoxin and poses a huge developmental risk, especially to babies and young children." Municipalities must also find, dig up and replace all lead pipes within the next decade in order to be compliant with these federal regulations, known as the Lead and Copper Rule. In Philadelphia, the city says it has never used lead for its water mains but the service lines that bring water from the main to customers' properties may contain lead. "This is part of an extensive, nationwide effort," said Brian Rademaekers, the Philadelphia Water Department's spokesperson. "The big challenge for us here in Philadelphia and across the country is that piece of pipe, that piece of plumbing, is owned by the customer." If you do have a lead line, the city maintains its corrosive control treatments help protect your water as they've been shown to keep lead levels below federal standards in 90% or more of the city's homes. Residents in Philadelphia can see if their property is connected through a lead service line by searching their address in this interactive map the city released last fall. There's just one problem: The material of most of the city's service lines remains a mystery. "The reason that so many are unknown is because we need to be able to see inside the house, under the sidewalk and under the street, so three different sections of that pipe need to be examined," Rademaekers said. Rademaekers estimates roughly one in every 20 properties — that's 5% — might have a lead service line. The Philadelphia Water Department can test your water for free to determine if you have lead pipes. He said the city is compiling its inventory through historical records, meter upgrades and resident reporting. The cost to replace a lead service line can be upward of $10,000, according to Robert Ballenger, an attorney specializing in utilities at Community Legal Services. The federal government has allocated more than $25 billion for lead pipe replacement, but the EPA estimates the cost nationally could eclipse $45 billion. Ballenger says more federal and state support is needed. "It's in the thousands of dollars to replace a lead service line," Ballenger said. "The question is how does a city pay for that? And my concern is that like many of the projects the city is doing that relate to our water infrastructure, that this is going to fall on the backs of rate payers." Rademaekers says Philadelphia is working to secure more grants and bonds but admits rate increases are possible. "Even the cost of creating this inventory and putting that map out there and mailing out those letters, that's an expensive proposition and it is something that is paid for through rates," he said. "It's one of many different obligations that we're juggling right now." For now, it falls on the property owner to cover the cost to replace a lead service line, unless it's connected to a water main that's already being replaced or repaired. The city offers interest-free loans to property owners for lead service line replacement. In the meantime, the city and health advocates urge those living at one of the hundreds of thousands of "unknown" addresses to take precautions, like using a National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certified filter, only using cold water for cooking and drinking, and flushing pipes regularly. "Before you have that first glass of water or fill up your coffee pot in the morning, first run that tap," Wein said. "That way any of that stagnant water that sat overnight, that's all flushed out, and that's the best way to ensure in case there is lead in the system that you're moving that out."
