How to determine whether mains pipe is made of lead

OneOfThem Stumbled

Hi,

I'd like to find out if the mains water pipe into the house is made of lead - it is very difficult to determine by looking at it (it certainly isn't plastic anyway). It's an old house.

Really should have done this ages ago. Don't want to wait/depend on Irish Water for anything.

seamus

Taken from a PDF on the Irish Water site, which has since been deleted;

ROUTINE TESTING FOR LEAD IN DRINKING WATER
Water supplies that come under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations are tested for lead.

Houses and buildings served by these supplies are randomly chosen for testing. Your individual property may not have been tested previously.

The water testing results of your water supply are available for you to see. Contact your Local Authority (LA) for public water supplies (operated by the LA on behalf of Irish Water) and also for all private regulated suppliesincluding group water schemes. https://www.water.ie/help-centre/contact-us/

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes a yearly report with a summary of drinking water results from all Irish regulated drinking water supplies http://www.epa.ie/water/dw/

CHECKING YOUR HOUSE FOR LEAD PIPES

If your home was built:
› before the mid-1970s it may have lead pipes or the lead pipes may have been replaced
› after the mid-1970s it is unlikely to have lead pipes

If you suspect you may have lead pipes, look for them. A qualified plumber could help you.Check inside your home

Look in the cupboard under your kitchen sink or behind it. You may also need to look in other places, e.g. the cupboard under the stairs. Find the pipe that comes straight in from the outside and leads to the cold kitchen sinktap. Check if it is made of lead along as much of its length as possible. Unpainted lead pipes are dull grey. Theyare also soft. If you scrape the surface gently with a knife, you will see the shiny, silver-coloured metal beneath. Check outside your home

Open the flap of the stopcock (also called mains stop tap) outside your property. Examine the pipe leading from the stopcock to the property. If you can, scrape its surface gently with a knife. It may not be possible to do this insome cases as access may be difficult. Other pipe materials in common use are:
› copper - bright, hard and dull brown
› iron - dark, very hard and may be rusty
› plastic - may be grey, black or blue.

The communication pipe from the water main to the stopcock, or the water main itself, both of which belong to the water supplier, may still contain lead. If in doubt, ask your water supplier for advice.


TESTING THE DRINKING WATER IN YOUR OWN HOUSE

If you find lead pipes or lead in your plumbing system, either inside or outside your house, you should have your drinking water tested.

Contact your water supplier for advice.
› For public supplies, contact your Local Authority, who operate public water supplies on behalf of Irish Water.
› For private water supplies contact your group water scheme committee or the owner of your private supply.
› For private wells, a number of private and public laboratories offer testing of drinking water