Ten years of tap sample data published by THE CITY shows that 35% of collected drinking water samples contain some lead, and no level of lead in drinking water is safe.
New York City has long touted its supply as the “Champagne of Drinking Water” thanks to nearly 2,000 miles of protected reservoirs upstate.
However, these protections at the source don’t prevent lead from leaching into water through outdated service lines — the pipes that connect the city’s water mains to internal plumbing inside homes — or indoor plumbing, both of which are the responsibility of property owners, not the public.
Beneath sidewalks and basement floors, old water service lines still provide drinking water to homes across the five boroughs. According to a 2023 report by The New York League of Conservation Voters, 30% of water service lines are made of confirmed lead, lead-coated galvanized steel, or potential lead or galvanized steel water service lines across the city. Because they are coated with a zinc and lead material, galvanized steel pipes present a high lead contamination risk just like lines made of lead alone.
The good news? You can take simple steps to protect yourself, including running your taps to flush out stagnant water that is more likely to be contaminated with lead. (More on that below.)
Here’s what to know about where our water comes from, how to check your service line and indoor plumbing pipe material, and how to mitigate your household’s lead exposure.
How likely is it that my building has lead service lines?
Though New York City uses phosphate additives and pH control to prevent pipe corrosion that can leach lead and other metals into drinking water, these efforts can’t fully prevent lead from reaching your faucet, especially in older buildings.
Homes built before the city’s 1961 lead pipe ban are more likely to have lead pipes or lead solder on copper pipes, especially in one- to four-family homes, while those built after the ban came into effect are unlikely to contain lead.
The New York League of Conservation Voters has compiled a comprehensive building-by-building survey of New York City homes with lead or potential lead service lines. Its 2023 report found that, despite the ban on the installation of new lead pipes, about 30% of the city’s water supply passes through a lead service line.
New data from the city Department of Environmental Protection has a similar assessment, showing 119,007 lead service lines, 3,150 galvanized steel lines coated with zinc containing lead, and another 119,304 whose material is unknown. And 557,061, or 67%, of the lines serving homes have been identified as non-lead. The Department of Environmental Protection maintains a map showing the locations of these lead service lines.
To make it easier to look up your address, THE CITY has created a tool:
Like the League of Conservation Voters, DEP uses a combination of historical construction data, field inspections, and statistical analysis to identify your home’s service line material. Unfortunately, you’d have to dig up your street to be absolutely sure, and if you’re a tenant, be aware: the line is considered your landlord’s property.
How can I check my service line and indoor pipes myself?
The four most common service line pipe materials in New York City are lead, galvanized steel, brass, and copper. Galvanized steel and brass pipes can also contain lead and pose water contamination risks, which is why copper pipe replacements are the current standard. To determine which material brings water to your faucet, inspect both your home’s internal plumbing and water service line connection using this two-step method:
- Check your two pipe systems: internal and service line
Identify your water service line connection, which is located in your basement or utility room, and find an exposed internal water pipe, often located underneath kitchen sinks.
- Use a magnet
Lead is not magnetic, so you can use a small magnet to see if it sticks to these pipes — if it does, your pipe is likely made of galvanized steel or copper. See step two to determine which.
- Scratch your pipe
Lightly scratch your service line connection or exposed indoor pipe with a coin: if it is shiny, silver, and relatively soft or dentable, it may be lead. If it is dull gray and not shiny, it may be galvanized steel.
If your pipes are a shiny reddish color, they are likely made of copper — and you’re likely in the clear. The same goes for plastic, which means your plumbing is served by PVC pipes.
You can also hire a plumber to inspect the pipes in your home for you. For more information about checking your pipes for lead, check out the EPA’s interactive guide here.
Check out the DEP’s visual guide for checking your home’s water service line connection.
If you’ve identified your home’s service line material, the DEP requests that resident photographs be sent to nyc.gov/dep/PARIS. This is part of an ongoing city effort to accurately categorize service lines citywide.
How dangerous are lead pipes?
Lead is one of the most dangerous contaminants in drinking water, hazardous even at very low levels. It can cause irreversible health problems, including neurological defects and reproductive issues, and these risks are even more serious for children.
If you live in a building with a lead or galvanized steel water service line, you can take basic precautions to significantly reduce the risk of adverse health effects from lead in water. See below in the “What now?” section for more information.
How can I test my water for lead?
The best way for residents to know for sure whether their water contains lead — leaching from either the service line or indoor plumbing — is by testing the water with a kit. The Department of Environmental Protection offers free testing kits for city residents, which you can request here. This kit allows you to collect your own tap water samples and send them back for analysis.
After you receive your kit, you’ll collect cold water from your faucet at two intervals: right after the tap is turned on, and once again after one to two minutes of running cold water. It is requested that you draw this water after six hours of non-use, as the first draw will reflect lead levels in your indoor plumbing, and the second will show lead levels in the service line.
If your kit results show elevated levels of lead, above 10 micrograms per liter, DEP will send a retest kit. This kit includes three bottles, the last of which records the lead levels after five minutes of running water. This will reflect the lead concentration in water flowing directly from the city’s main.
After labeling your collection jugs and filling out the accompanying form, mail the kit back to the city with the prepaid label as soon as possible. For more information about the test kits, check out this guide from the DEP.
Results will come in the mail but may take weeks or even months to get back, according to residents who have recently received their test results. An alternative is sending your sample to an EPA-certified lab like mytapscore (between $65 and $100), or testing and receiving results yourself with an EPA-certified at-home testing kit (about $20 for one test).
A negative lead result does not guarantee the water is lead-free. According to the DEP, “because lead levels may vary over time, lead exposure is possible even when your tap sampling results do not detect lead at one point in time.”
OK my water has lead in it. What now?
Residents can take steps to protect themselves from suspected lead contamination before drinking or cooking.
One is to use a filter certified to remove lead: either an under-sink system or a water pitcher filter. Read more about the EPA’s recommended lead filters here.
Using cold water only is another way to avoid lead leaching. Hot water can dissolve lead in corroded, older pipes more easily, and some water heaters in older buildings may even contain lead. It is especially important to use cold water when preparing baby formula, according to the New York State Department of Health.
You can also run the tap before using water to help limit lead exposure, especially after six or more hours of non-use. The DEP recommends that residents “flush” their tap water for one to two minutes until the water becomes noticeably colder to the touch. This step should be taken after six or more hours of non-use. Colder water indicates that the water sitting in pipes overnight, more likely to contain contaminants due to longer pipe exposure, has been flushed.
“Lead exposure by water is preventable. Until service lines are replaced, you can take precautions right now. Run your water for five minutes or more after periods of non-use between six and eight hours), only use cold water for cooking, install a water filter and clean it out once a month — this will dramatically reduce your risk,” said League of Conservation Voters Senior Vice President Josh Klainberg.
How can I get my building to change the lead pipes?
It’s going to be a real uphill climb.
Replacing lead service lines is expensive — costing property owners $15,000 on average — and typically requires excavation of the street and sidewalk. Though some city programs are in place to help low-income property owners in certain neighborhoods pay for these replacements, these funds cover less than 3.6% of expected replacements needed citywide.
Unlike other U.S. cities where the water service line is public, New York City leaves the water service line, which runs underneath the street and connects to the water main, entirely to building owners. Unlike with lead paint, there’s no law requiring landlords to test, disclose the presence of, or replace these pipes.
A proposed rule from the EPA would require all lead service lines nationwide to be replaced by 2037, a measure now expected to go into effect this year after the Trump administration signaled support for the Biden-era plan.
For more on the state of New York City’s lead service lines and new analysis of tap water samples, read THE CITY’s piece here.
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