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  • Safe Drinking Water Act
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Use of Lead Free Pipes, Fittings, Fixtures, Solder, and Flux for Drinking Water

Drinking water fountain
Final "Lead Free" Rule

On September 1, 2020,  the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final regulation "Use of Lead Free Pipes, Fittings, Fixtures, Solder, and Flux for Drinking Water." In the final rule, EPA makes conforming changes to existing regulations based on the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA) and the Community Fire Safety Act enacted by Congress. The final rule also requires that manufacturers or importers certify that their products meet the requirements using a consistent verification process within 3 years of the final rule publication date in the Federal Register. As a result, this new rule will reduce lead in drinking water and assure that states, manufacturers, inspectors and consumers have a common understanding of “Lead Free” plumbing. 
 
  • Final Regulation Text in 40 CFR 143.10 - 143.20 
  • Federal Register Notice of Final Rule
  • Questions and Answers About the Final Lead Free Rule
  • Supporting documents for final rule are available in the docket folder EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0680 at regulations.gov
  • Brochure: How to Identify Lead Free Certification Marks for Drinking Water System & Plumbing Products
  • Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rule
  • Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rule 30-Day Comment Period Extension Ending May 17, 2017

Overview of Lead Free Requirements of Safe Drinking Water Act

Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) establishes the definition for “lead free” as a weighted average of 0.25% lead calculated across the wetted surfaces of a pipe, pipe fitting, plumbing fitting, and fixture and 0.2% lead for solder and flux. The Act also provides a methodology for calculating the weighted average of wetted surfaces.

The Act prohibits the “use of any pipe, any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture, any solder, or any flux, after June 1986, in the installation or repair of (i) any public water system; or (ii) any plumbing in a residential or non-residential facility providing water for human consumption, that is not lead free.” 

Additionally there is a prohibition on introducing a pipe, any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture, any solder, or any flux that is not lead free into commerce; unless the use is for manufacturing or industrial purposes. 

The SDWA includes several exemptions from the lead free requirements, specifically for plumbing devices that are used exclusively for nonpotable services, as well as a list of specific products: toilets, bidets, urinals, fill valves, flushometer valves, fire hydrants, tub fillers, shower valves, service saddles, or water distribution main gate valves that are 2 inches in diameter or larger.

Legislative History

In 1986 Congress Amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, prohibiting the use of pipes, solder or flux that were not “lead free” in public water systems or plumbing in facilities providing water for human consumption. At the time "lead free” was defined as solder and flux with no more than 0.2% lead and pipes with no more than 8%.

In 1996 Congress further amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, requiring plumbing fittings and fixtures (endpoint devices) to be in compliance with voluntary lead leaching standards. The amendments also prohibited the introduction into commerce of any pipe, pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free.

In 2011 Congress passed the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA) revising the definition of lead free by lowering the maximum lead content of the wetted surfaces of plumbing products (such as pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures) from 8% to a weighted average of 0.25%,  establishing a statutory method for the calculation of lead content and  eliminating the requirement that lead free products be in compliance with voluntary standards established in accordance with SDWA 1417(e) for leaching of lead from new plumbing fittings and fixtures.

The 2011 RLDWA also created exemptions in SDWA Section 1417 from the prohibitions on the use or introduction into commerce of “pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings or fixtures, including backflow preventers, that are used exclusively for non-potable services such as manufacturing, industrial processing, irrigation, outdoor watering, or any other uses where the water is not anticipated to be used for human consumption” (SDWA 1417(a)(4)(A)). Also exempt are “toilets, bidets, urinals, fill valves, flushometer valves, tub fillers, shower valves, service saddles, or water distribution main gate valves that are 2 inches in diameter or larger” (SDWA 1417(a)(4)(B)).

The Community Fire Safety Act of 2013 further amended the SDWA Section 1417 to include fire hydrants in the list of exempted plumbing devices.

Past Public Meeting Notices, Presentations, and Summary of the Act

  • Federal Register Notices and review presentations from public meetings
  • Summary of the Reduction Of Lead in Drinking Water Act and Frequently Asked Questions (as of December 2013)
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on April 27, 2022
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