Water Quality In Your Home
Water Quality In Your Home
Learn about your drinking water. Many people choose to filter or test the drinking water that comes out of their tap or from their private well for a variety of reasons. And whether at home, at work or while traveling, many Americans drink bottled water. Lead can enter drinking water through corrosion of plumbing materials, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally "lead-free" plumbing may contain up to eight percent lead. Each year by July 1st you should receive a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also known as an annual drinking water quality report from your water supplier. Your CCR tells you where your water comes from and what's in it. Testing your home's drinking water is the only way to confirm if lead is present. You can buy lead testing kits in home improvement stores to collect samples then send to a laboratory for analysis. EPA recommends sending samples to a certified laboratory for analysis.
For more information about your drinking water click the epa links below.