Lead in Drinking Water

The short answer

Lead is a toxic metal that usually gets into drinking water from the pipes and fixtures it passes through, not from the river, lake or aquifer it started in. You can't see, taste or smell lead dissolved in water. EPA says testing is the only sure way to tell whether there are harmful amounts of lead in your drinking water.

Three numbers frame every lead result:

• The health goal is zero. EPA's maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for lead is 0 mg/L^[1], and EPA says there is no safe level of lead exposure.
• The action level in force today is 0.015 mg/L^[1]. It is a trigger for water systems to take more steps, not a line between healthy and unhealthy water.
• A lower action level is coming. Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), the action level drops to 0.010 mg/L (effective Nov 1, 2027)^[2].

If your home has a lead service line, older brass faucets or lead solder, or was built before 1986^[4], a lead test is worth doing. Start with a sample analyzed by a state-certified lab. Our lead water test guide explains who should test and how to take the sample, and our water testing cost guide shows verified lab prices. If the lab doesn't detect lead, no treatment is needed based on that result. If it does, the steps below help you find the source and lower your exposure before you spend money on anything.

Lead levels and what to do

The table below lines up the federal lead benchmarks with what each kind of result means for your household. The values come from our versioned benchmark data, which records EPA's figures and the date we last checked them. Our guide on how to read your lab report explains the units and terms you will see next to your result.

How the action level works

The action level is easy to misread. It is not a maximum contaminant level (MCL), and EPA does not regulate lead with one. Instead, EPA regulates lead and copper with a treatment technique that requires water systems to control how corrosive their water is. EPA explains that if more than 10%^[1] of a system's tap water samples exceed the action level, the system must take additional steps.

That trigger is about a whole water system, measured across many homes. Your own result describes your own tap. In the final LCRI rule, EPA says plainly that the lead action level is not a health-based level and that there is no safe level of lead in drinking water; its health goal is 0 mg/L^[1]. So a result below the action level does not mean there is no lead in the water. It means the result is under the point where a utility must act.

The lower action level

The LCRI was published in the Federal Register in October 2024 and took effect on December 30, 2024^[2]. It lowers the lead action level from 0.015 mg/L^[1] to 0.010 mg/L (effective Nov 1, 2027)^[2]. EPA's regulations table says water systems must comply with the revised level beginning on the LCRI compliance date. Until then, the current level is the one in force. The rule also requires water systems to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years^[3] and brings more rigorous testing.

The American Water Works Association has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the LCRI, in a case called American Water Works Association v. EPA (No. 24-1376). The court heard oral argument on September 30, 2026^[7]. We have not found a source saying the rule has been stayed or changed. The status box below shows what applies as of its date.

Lead and copper together

Copper is regulated under the same rule and usually comes from the same place: corrosion of household plumbing. Its action level is 1.3 mg/L^[1]. If your pipes are copper joined with older solder, you can ask your lab whether it also tests for copper.

Health effects of lead in drinking water

EPA's health goal of 0 mg/L^[1] reflects its view that there is no safe level of lead exposure. EPA's drinking water regulations list these potential health effects of lead:

• Infants and children: delays in physical or mental development. Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities.
• Adults: kidney problems and high blood pressure.

Because the effects EPA lists start with infants and children, homes with babies and young children have the most reason to test. EPA's everyday advice also names baby formula directly: use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making it.

A water test measures lead in your water, not lead in anyone's body. It can't tell you whether a person has been exposed or how much. If you are worried about a child's or your own exposure, talk to a health professional. They can decide whether any testing or follow-up is needed.

We don't use the words "safe" or "unsafe" for a lead result on their own. When we compare a result with a number, we name the benchmark: the EPA health goal, the action level in force, or the lower action level that is coming.

Where lead in water comes from

Lead rarely starts in the water source. It gets in on the way to your glass. EPA's regulations table names the main sources of lead in drinking water as corrosion of household plumbing systems and erosion of natural deposits.

Lead service lines. The service line is the pipe that connects your home to the water main. EPA says that where a home has a lead service line, it is typically the most significant source of lead in the water. On its LCRI page, EPA puts it simply: in drinking water, the primary source of lead is from pipes. If you don't know what your service line is made of, ask your utility what it knows about the line at your address. Because this plumbing sits between the main and your faucet, your utility's tests can't see it; our tap water testing guide explains what to test at your own tap.

Faucets, fixtures and solder. EPA says the most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets and fixtures. In homes without a lead service line, the most common problem is brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and plumbing joined with lead solder. CDC adds that household plumbing fixtures, welding solder and pipe fittings made before 1986 may also contain lead.

Corrosive water. Lead enters water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode. EPA says this happens especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content.

Standing water. The longer water sits in your pipes, the more lead it may contain. Water that has stood overnight, or while you were away, can carry more lead than water that has been running.

Lead in well water

A private well does not take lead off the list. EPA notes that heavy metals, lead among them, can leach into drinking water from household plumbing and service lines as well as from natural mineral deposits. The plumbing inside a home on a well can contain the same old fixtures and solder as a home on city water.

What changes is who tests. No utility samples a private well, so the owner has to. EPA suggests checking with your health department, or with nearby water utilities that use groundwater, about contaminants of concern in your area. If you're setting up a broader well baseline, build a test plan that fits your water source and household.

When to retest for lead

One lead result is a snapshot. CDC points out that water sampling results can vary with the time of day, the season, the method of sampling, the flow of water and other factors. Two samples from the same tap can differ, so plan to retest in these situations:

• To confirm a result before acting. If lead was detected, especially near or above the action level, retest with a state-certified lab before you change anything. Follow the lab's sampling instructions exactly, since a sampling slip can raise or lower the number.
• After plumbing work. Replacing a service line, faucet or section of pipe changes what the water touches. Retest afterward to see whether the level moved.
• After you start using a filter. A follow-up test of filtered water is the way to check that it is doing its job.
• When your household changes. When a young child starts living with you, or someone in your home becomes pregnant, a fresh result from a certified lab is worth having.
• When your utility tells you something changed. If your utility replaces the lead service line on your street, changes how it treats the water, or tells you it exceeded the action level, test your own tap again.

If your earlier result showed no lead and nothing has changed, there is no need to keep testing often. Keep the report so you can compare it with future results.

How to lower lead in your water

Start with a confirmed result from a state-certified lab. What you do next depends on what it shows, and "no treatment needed" is a real outcome.

If lead was not detected, no treatment is needed based on that result. Keep the report and retest after plumbing work or a change in your household.

If lead was detected, EPA's everyday steps are free and start working right away:

1. Use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula. EPA reminds you that boiling water does not remove lead.
2. Flush your pipes before drinking when water has been sitting. EPA suggests running the tap, taking a shower, doing laundry or running a load of dishes. How long to run the water depends on whether your home has a lead service line and how long that line is, so ask your utility for its recommended flushing time.
3. Find the source. Ask your utility whether your service line is lead. Look at the age of your faucets and the solder on any copper pipes. The fix for a lead service line is different from the fix for one old faucet.

If you choose a filter, do it after you have a certified-lab result that shows lead, and choose one that is certified to remove lead, as EPA advises. Check the product's certification for lead before you buy, and follow the maker's instructions for replacing cartridges. EPA also warns not to run hot water through the filter. Then retest the filtered water with a certified lab to confirm the filter is working.

Longer-term fixes address the source itself: replacing a lead service line or swapping out old brass fixtures. Under the LCRI, water systems must identify and replace lead pipes, so ask your utility about its replacement program and any help it offers before you hire a contractor.

If your result is at or above the action level, contact your utility as well. CDC calls your local water authority your first source for testing and identifying lead in your tap water.