Lead Sources

There are numerous ways children and adults can be exposed to lead. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that “the greatest exposure to lead is swallowing or breathing in lead paint chips or dust.” In fact, EPA estimates that 10 to 20 percent of lead exposure in young children may come from drinking water. Infants raised on mixed formula can receive 40 to 60 percent of their exposure from drinking water.

Besides drinking water, exposure to lead can come from:

• lead-based paint, 
• lead in the air from industrial emissions,
• lead in soil from past emissions by automobiles using leaded gas, together with paint chips and lead paint dust,
• lead byproducts brought home by industrial workers on their clothes and shoes, and
• lead in consumer products and food, such as some imported candies, medicines, dishes, toys, jewelry, and plastics.

How lead enters drinking water

• There is no lead in the water leaving the treatment plant.

• Lead can enter drinking water when a chemical reaction occurs in plumbing materials that contain lead. When water in a home or building is unused for several hours, lead can dissolve into the water from plumping materials made of lead. 

Lead service lines

• This is the pipe that brings water from the main into your home. In some older homes, these could be lead.
• Service line ownership is shared by the city and the property owner. The city owns the portion from the main to the meter, including the meter. The homeowner is responsible for portion from the meter to the home, as well as all the plumbing in the home. 

Lead plumbing

• The pipe material inside some older homes may be lead. 

Lead solder

• This is the material used to connect household pipes to each other and to make repairs on metal pipes. Lead solder was used until 1987.

Brass plumbing fixtures

• There is brass in almost all faucets, valves and fittings used in household plumbing. Until 2014, these materials could contain up to 8 percent lead and still be classified as “lead-free.”  Now the maximum amount of lead allowed in brass plumbing materials is 0.25 percent. 

Galvanized pipes

• Galvanized pipes are made with a protective layer of zinc. However, the zinc layer erodes over time and results in corrosion. When lead is released from a lead service pipe and passes through galvanized plumbing, lead can accumulate in the corroded areas of galvanized pipes.

• Galvanized pipes were installed in many homes in Fort Worth. While most homes in Fort Worth with galvanized service lines were built before 1970, a record review shows galvanized plumbing is in some homes built since then. These pipes can release lead in water if the property has, or previously had, a lead service pipe.