Lead in Drinking Water in Northwest Arkansas
Lead is almost never present in the water your utility sends out. It gets into drinking water from the plumbing between the main and your glass — service lines, solder, brass fittings and fixtures.
That single fact governs everything about this problem. It means your utility's excellent test results cannot tell you what is in your water, because the lead is added after their sampling point. It also means the answer is within your control.
Common symptoms
People describe this problem to us in these ways. You may recognise several, or only one.
- None. Lead is colourless, tasteless and odourless at any concentration that matters
- Risk factors rather than symptoms: a home built before 1986
- Lead service line or unknown service-line material
- Copper plumbing with lead solder joints
- Older brass fixtures or valves
- Acidic or aggressive water, which increases leaching
Potential causes
Lead solder in copper plumbing
Lead solder was permitted in US plumbing until 1986. Homes from before then may have lead at the joints.
Lead service lines
The pipe connecting the main to the house. Utilities are now required to inventory service-line materials, and yours may be able to tell you what yours is made of.
Brass fittings and fixtures
Brass legally contained meaningful lead until the definition of 'lead free' was tightened in 2014. Older taps can contribute.
Water chemistry
Acidic or low-alkalinity water dissolves metals more readily. This is why corrosion control is a central part of how utilities manage lead.
Water sitting in pipes
The longer water sits in contact with lead-bearing plumbing, the more it picks up. Which is why first-draw samples matter and why flushing helps.
This one requires testing to confirm
Testing at your own tap is the only way to know, and the sampling method matters enormously.
A first-draw sample is collected after water has sat in the plumbing undisturbed for at least six hours — usually first thing in the morning. That represents the worst case, which is what you want to know about. A flushed sample taken afterwards shows what you get once the line has been cleared, and comparing the two shows whether the lead is coming from your fixture, your household plumbing, or the service line.
Lead analysis requires a certified laboratory. Home test strips for lead are not reliable at the concentrations that matter.
Treatment technologies commonly used
Which of these is right depends on what your water actually measures. These are the technologies genuinely used for this problem, not a list of everything we sell.
Reverse Osmosis Systems
RO systems certified under NSF/ANSI 58 for lead reduction are a widely used point-of-use approach.
Under-Sink Drinking-Water Systems
Filters certified under NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction. Check that the certification names lead specifically — a filter certified only under NSF/ANSI 42 is a taste-and-odour filter and makes no lead claim.
Drinking-Water Filtration
Choosing between the options.
Acid-Neutralizing Systems
Where aggressive water is driving the leaching, correcting pH addresses one underlying cause.
What you can do today, at no cost
- Use cold water for drinking, cooking, and making up infant formula. Hot water dissolves metals more readily and has been sitting in the heater.
- Flush before drinking if water has sat for hours. Running the tap until it turns noticeably colder clears the water that has been in contact with your plumbing longest.
- Clean tap aerators periodically, as particles can collect there.
- Ask your utility what your service line is made of. They are required to maintain an inventory.
- Do not boil water to address lead. Boiling concentrates it.
Health guidance on lead exposure comes from the EPA, the CDC and your physician, not from a water-treatment company. If anyone in your household is pregnant or you have young children and you have reason to suspect lead, speak to your doctor as well as testing your water.
Questions we are asked about this
How do I know if I have a lead service line?
Your water utility is required to maintain an inventory of service-line materials and can tell you what is recorded for your address. You can also check the pipe where it enters the house: lead is dull grey, soft enough to scratch with a key, and not magnetic.
Does a refrigerator filter remove lead?
Only if that specific model is certified for lead reduction. Many refrigerator filters are certified under NSF/ANSI 42 for taste and odour only, which is a different and much less demanding standard. Check the performance data sheet for the model in your fridge.
Is there a safe level of lead in drinking water?
The EPA has set the maximum contaminant level goal for lead at zero, and the CDC states there is no known safe blood lead level in children. The action level of 15 parts per billion is a regulatory trigger for utility action, not a health-based safety threshold. Questions about exposure and health belong with your physician.
Will a whole-house filter solve lead?
Usually not, and it is the wrong place to spend. If lead is entering from solder and fixtures throughout your house, a filter at the point of entry sits upstream of the source. Point-of-use treatment at the tap you drink from, using a filter certified for lead, is the standard approach.
We work across Northwest Arkansas
City water and private wells, in Benton, Washington, Madison and Carroll counties.