Testing For Lead

How to have your water tested for lead

Lead in tap water typically comes from either the pipe connecting older homes to the water system or from plumbing within the home itself. Therefore, to find out if you have lead in your water, you must test the water inside the home.

Testing your water is easier and less expensive than you may think. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the quality of tap water, recommends sending samples to a certified laboratory for analysis. EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline, at 800-426-4791, can provide a list of qualified labs in your area. Lead testing is also available at the Erie County Public Health Laboratory for a nominal fee. Call 716-898-6100 for more information.

For a limited number of participants, the Erie County Water Authority is offering free lead and copper testing for homes within its service areas, as part of its Annual Lead and Copper Study. Those interested in being part of the Annual Lead and Copper Study should contact the Erie County Water Authority at 716-849-8484.

If you are part of the Annual Lead and Copper Study being conducted by the Erie County Water Authority, an ECWA employee will drop off to your home a sampling kit, with instructions, which you complete. Once you have collected the sample, ECWA will arrange to pick up the sample for analysis.

To maximize the accuracy of your results, it is very important to follow the directions. Here are a few key points, which will also be included in the sample collection instructions:

  • Collect samples from a tap that has not been used for at least six hours, because lead dissolves into water slowly. For best results, draw the sample first thing in the morning.
  • Do not run the water before drawing the sample. The water collected for analysis should be the “first draw” from the tap.
  • Be sure to use a kitchen or bathroom cold water tap that has been used for drinking or cooking water during the past few weeks.
  • Do not clean or remove the faucet aerator prior to sampling. You want tests to account for any particles of lead that may have accumulated in the aerator basket.
  • Place the opened sample bottle below the faucet and open the cold water tap as you would do to fill a glass of water.

The Erie County Water Authority will notify you of the test results and will provide further information about limiting lead exposure. For more information go to www.ecwa.org/GetTheLeadOut.