Lead in Drinking Water? What You Should Know.

Concerns about lead in drinking water have been in the spotlight recently, especially for homeowners in older neighborhoods and cities with aging infrastructure. If you’ve received a notice from your city or simply want to understand your risk, here’s what matters most and what practical steps you can take.

Where lead in drinking water comes from

In most U.S. cities, lead does not come from the water source itself. Instead, it typically enters drinking water through:

• Older service lines connecting the water main to the home

• Lead or copper plumbing inside older houses

• Solder or fixtures installed decades ago

When a city treats water to reduce corrosion, lead can still leach into water as it travels through older service lines or in-home plumbing. Even if your service line is not made of lead, your home’s internal plumbing may still contribute lead or copper to drinking water, particularly in older homes. 

Practical steps to reduce exposure

Cities often recommend several simple actions:

• Run tap water before using it for drinking or cooking

• Always use cold water for consumption

• Clean faucet aerators regularly

• Consider point-of-use filtration at the tap

Point-of-use filtration addresses water quality right where you drink and cook, regardless of what may be upstream in the plumbing.

Why point-of-use filtration helps

Because lead can enter water after it leaves the treatment plant anywhere along the path to your tap, filtering at the tap is a practical way to reduce potential exposure. Systems designed for under-counter installation provide filtered water on demand for drinking, cooking, and making coffee or tea, regardless of whether the source is a service line or aging pipes within the home.

Our filtration systems have been independently lab tested for heavy-metal reduction, including lead and copper. While no single step replaces long-term infrastructure upgrades, point-of-use filtration is something homeowners can do today.

What about taste?

An added benefit many people notice is improved taste. When water tastes better, people tend to drink more of it, which supports better hydration overall.

The bottom line

Lead in drinking water is largely an infrastructure issue, and solutions often take time at the city level. In the meantime, homeowners have options. Staying informed, following city guidance, and using filtration at the tap can help reduce potential exposure and provide peace of mind.

Find the under-counter unit here.