{"id":890,"date":"2019-06-24T15:07:30","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T15:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/?page_id=890"},"modified":"2019-06-24T15:07:30","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T15:07:30","slug":"lead-and-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/lead-and-drinking-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead and Drinking Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Facts About Lead and Drinking Water<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are pleased to\nprovide our customers with this important information about lead in drinking\nwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Our&nbsp;Approach to\nCorrosion Control<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We take steps to reduce the potential for lead to leach from\nyour pipes into the water. This is accomplished by pH adjustment and monitoring\nthe corrosivity of the water and its potential to leach from your pipes. Currently\nwe do not add corrosion inhibitors to the water leaving our treatment\nfacilities. Some source waters are non-aggressive by nature, meaning there is\nno need to add corrosion control treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Results from Lead\nSampling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results from samples\ncollected in your water system are included in your annual water quality report\n(also known as the Consumer Confidence Report), which can be found on our\nwebsite. Customers are notified via their water bill and will be provided a\nlink to the page or where a hard copy can be obtained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because service lines, faucet fixtures, household pipes, and\/or\nsolder can contribute significantly to the lead and copper levels in tap water,\nwe ask our customers to collect samples in their homes. These samples are\ncollected on a routine basis (by monitoring once every three years) at homes\nthat are considered vulnerable based on when they were constructed and the\nmaterials used. We do this monitoring according to the requirements of the Lead\nand Copper Rule and use the results to confirm that our corrosion control\nstrategy is operating as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Assessing Your\nExposure to Lead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Homes built before 1930 are more likely to have lead plumbing\nsystems. Lead pipes are a dull grey color and scratch easily revealing a shiny\nsurface. Lead solder used to join copper pipes is a silver or grey color. If\nyour house was built before January 1986, you are more likely to have\nlead-soldered joints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to know what kind of plumbing and service lines you\nhave in your home is to hire a licensed plumber. Every home is different and it\nis important that you do not rely on your neighbors for information, as their\nhome could be different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead levels in drinking water are more likely to be higher if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>your home or water system has lead\npipes or has a lead service line<\/li><li>your home has copper pipes with\nlead solder<\/li><li>your home was built before 1986<br>\n<br>\nAND<\/li><li>you have soft or acidic water<\/li><li>water sits in the pipes for long\nperiods of time or has low usage<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minimizing Your\nExposure to Lead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You cannot see, smell\nor taste lead, and boiling water will not remove lead. Although our water is\ntreated to minimize the risk of lead, you can reduce your household\u2019s exposure\nto lead in drinking water by following these simple steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Flush your tap before drinking or cooking with water, if the\nwater in the faucet has gone unused for more than six hours. The longer the\nwater lies dormant in your home\u2019s plumbing, the more potential for it to\ncontain lead. Flush your tap with cold water for 30 seconds to two minutes\nbefore using. To conserve water, catch the running water and use it to water\nyour plants.<\/li><li>Try not to cook with or drink water from the hot water faucet.\nHot water has the potential to contain more lead than cold water. When you need\nhot water, heat cold water on the stove or in the microwave.<\/li><li>Remove loose lead solder and debris from plumbing. In\nnewly-constructed homes or homes in which the plumbing was recently replaced,\nremove the strainers from each faucet and run the water for 3 to 5 minutes.\nWhen replacing or working on pipes, be sure to use materials that are\nlead-free. Use of lead-based solders has been banned.<\/li><li>Look for the \u201cLead Free\u201d Label. When replacing or installing\nfixtures, look for the \u201clead free\u201d label. Under the 2011 Reduction of Lead in\nDrinking Water Act, fixtures must have 0.25% lead or less to be considered\n\u201clead free.\u201d<\/li><li>Routinely clean faucet screens. Sediment and metals can collect\nin the faucet screen located at the tip of your faucets. Replace screens that\nare in poor condition. New&nbsp;screens are available at local hardware stores.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To clear the faucet screen of debris:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Unscrew the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Separate the individual parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Remove any sediment (mineral or rust build up) on the screen\nand other parts. If necessary, soak the parts in white vinegar for a few\nminutes and scrub with a brush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. Reassemble the screen parts and reattach&nbsp;to faucet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The American Water Works Association (AWWA) offers guidance&nbsp;on\ncleaning aerators.&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.awwa.org\/searchresults.aspx?q=cleaning%20aerators\">https:\/\/www.awwa.org\/searchresults.aspx?q=cleaning%20aerators<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Home Treatment for Lead<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The need for a home\ntreatment device or filter is a customer-specific decision. &nbsp;As described\nabove, we take steps to reduce the potential for lead to leach from your pipes\ninto the water. Please note that certain home treatment devices, such as water\nsofteners for example, might increase lead levels in your water. Always consult\nthe device manufacturer for information on potential impacts to your drinking\nwater or household plumbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before purchasing a\nhome water treatment device, consider local water quality, cost and\nmaintenance, product performance and certifications to make sure the unit will\nmeet your needs. &nbsp;Home treatment devices require regular service. When\nhomeowners do not maintain the unit as recommended by the manufacturer, it\nreduces the effectiveness and possibly results in lower quality water. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information regarding home treatment, customers may\nchoose to visit the NSF website at&nbsp; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nsf.org\/Certified\/DWTU\/\">http:\/\/www.nsf.org\/Certified\/DWTU\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Getting Your Water\nTested for Lead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead and\/or copper levels in some homes and businesses might be detected due to customer use of lead pipes, lead solder and molded metal faucets in household plumbing. <strong>The City of Harrodsburg is will provide testing for lead for individual customers who request it. For customers who would like to be tested for lead, the City of Harrodsburg will collect samples and deliver at the customers cost to a certified laboratory<\/strong>. The cost for Lead testing is $20 each, and for Copper is $20.00 each. <br> <br> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/lead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">-- USEPA Lead Information<br>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/water.ky.gov\/Pages\/Division%20of%20Water.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kentucky\nDivision of Water<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>EPA\u2019s\nSafe Drinking Water Act Hotline:&nbsp;1-800-426-4791<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Facts About Lead and Drinking Water We are pleased to provide our customers with this important information about lead in drinking water. Our&nbsp;Approach to Corrosion Control We take steps to reduce the potential for lead to leach from your pipes into the water. This is accomplished by pH adjustment and monitoring the corrosivity of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/890"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harrodsburgcity.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}