New York City Recommends Running Tap Before Using the Water
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is warning some residents of high levels of lead in their tap water and recommending that residents run the tap for 30 seconds before drinking or cooking with the water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates that New York City routinely test the water in certain buildings that are more than 40 years old as these buildings may contain lead water pipes or have lead in the soldered joints holding the pipes together. Tests conducted by the City over the summer in 222 older buildings showed elevated levels above the federal standards in almost 15% of the results.
The purpose of running the water is to clear any lead-laden standing water out of the pipes. As the City's waters supply is lead-free and lead tends to leech from the pipes into the water inside over a period of hours, flushing the pipes should remove any lead from the water that you are drinking. Lead is a very dangerous substance and exposure to elevated levels can seriously affect your health. Symptoms of lead poisoning include developmental delays in children, headache, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and possible kidney failure.
If you live in a home that is older than 40 years, make sure that you have an inspector come in to test the pipes to make sure that they do not contain lead. If they do, consider changing the pipes to remove any lead contained in the solder or the pipes themselves. Obviously, the expense may be considerable depending on how much lead is found. The alternative would be to continually test the water in your home or to run the tap water before you use it. Considering the dangers lead poses and the cost of water in New York City, replacing the pipes is the only solution.
