Lead in Drinking Water

Lead pipes and plumbing fixtures are sources of lead — a potent neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to children. Reducing drinking water exposure to lead is an EPA priority.

Basic Information

EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree that there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood. Lead is harmful to health, especially for children.

Learn basic information about lead in drinking water.

Sources of Lead in Drinking Water

Sources of Lead in Drinking Water

Download the infographic.

Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. Where present, lead service lines (also known as lead pipes) are the leading source of lead in drinking water. Other common sources of lead in drinking water include faucets and fixtures.

Learn how lead gets into drinking water.

Health Effects of Lead in Drinking Water

Children are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults.

Learn about the health effects of lead in drinking water.

How to Reduce Your Exposure to Lead & Protect Your Family

You can take steps to reduce lead in your home. Your first point of contact for concerns related to lead in your water is your water utility system. You can also test parts of your home and take actions to protect your family.

There are many steps you can take to protect your family from lead in drinking water, including identifying filters that remove lead from drinking water and lead-free certification marks for fixtures.

Find Out if Lead Is in Your Drinking Water

Find out if lead is in your drinking water by contacting your water system. Your system's most recent Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) is a resource to learn more.

• Protect Your Tap: A Quick Check for Lead
• EPA Home Water Testing Facts (pdf) (567.88 KB)

Steps that Schools and Child Care Facilities Can Take

EPA’s Training, Testing, and Taking Action (3Ts) program provides information and recommendations to prepare schools, child care facilities, and states to build a voluntary implementation program to reduce lead levels in drinking water. Download the 3Ts materials for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water.

EPA Regulations for Lead in Drinking Water

EPA’s regulations help protect communities across the U.S. from exposure to lead in drinking water.

Basics

In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law requires EPA to determine the level of contaminants in drinking water at which no adverse health effects are likely to occur with an adequate margin of safety. These non-enforceable health goals, based solely on possible health risks are called maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs). The MCLG for lead is zero. EPA has set this level based on the best available science which shows there is no safe level of exposure to lead.

EPA’s regulations also require that if more than 10 percent of tap water samples exceed the lead action level of 15 parts per billion, then water systems are required to take additional actions. Find an overview of EPA’s drinking water regulations for lead.

•  In 1991, EPA published the Lead and Copper Rule to minimize lead and copper in drinking water. This rule replaced the previous standard.
• EPA’s 2021 Revised Lead and Copper Rule improves protections for children and communities from the risks of lead exposure by better protecting children at schools and child care facilities, identifying lead service lines, and empowering communities through information.
• EPA's 2024  Lead and Copper Rule Improvements better protects communities from exposure to lead in drinking water.

Lead Service Line Replacement

In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water. The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions established requirements for water systems to replace lead service lines under certain circumstances. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements strengthens these requirements and mandates water systems to replace lead and GRR services under their control. 

• Lead Service Line Replacement Requirements
• Identifying Funding Sources for Lead Service Line Replacement

How EPA Requires States and Water Systems to Protect Drinking Water

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires EPA to establish and enforce standards that public drinking water systems must follow. EPA delegates primary enforcement responsibility (also called primacy) for public water systems to states and Tribes if they meet certain requirements. 

• Background on Drinking Water Standards
• How EPA Regulates Drinking Water Contaminants
• Primacy Enforcement Responsibility for Public Water Systems

Funding and Technical Assistance

EPA’s funding and financing programs can help reduce the cost of lead pipe replacement projects and thereby reduce costs to customers. 

Funding Opportunities 

EPA’s funding and financing programs can help reduce the cost of lead pipe replacement projects and thereby reduce costs to customers. 

• Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) can provide financial assistance for drinking water infrastructure projects including lead pipe replacement programs.
• Lead Service Line Replacement DWSRF: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act invests $15 billion towards lead service line replacement through the DWSRF over 5 years. With this investment, 49% of funds will be provided to communities as grants or principal forgiveness loans. State matches are not required.
• Drinking Water Infrastructure Grants Tribal Set-Aside (DWIG-TSA) Program: Both community and non-profit non-community water systems serving tribal members have eligibility for grants administered through the DWIG-TSA program.
• Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Grants: The Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Grant Program is designed to facilitate reducing lead in drinking water in communities through infrastructure and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and childcare facilities.  
• Identifying Funding Sources for Lead Service Line Replacement: Federal and non-federal funding sources are available to assist states and water utilities with these efforts, including lead service line replacement. Find more funding opportunities to reduce lead exposure from drinking water. 

Technical Assistance

• Real Water Technical Assistance (Real WaterTA): EPA’s free RealWaterTA program is available to help drinking water utility systems identify, plan for, and replace lead pipes in the communities they serve. RealWaterTA can also help systems apply for funding.
• Get the Lead Out: EPA’s Get the Lead Out initiative aims to accelerate the removal of lead pipes where it’s needed most, help connect more water utilities to federal funding, and move our country closer to the goal of getting 100% of lead pipes out of water systems once and for all.