Lead In Drinking Water
This section answers questions about lead in the City's drinking water. If you have a question that is not addressed in
this section, please contact the Water Quality Assurance Office at 389-0562.
Until approximately 1940, lead was used for service pipe from the cast iron main in the street to the house. Around that
time, copper was beginning to be used for water service pipe and interior plumbing. At present it is estimated that
approximately 3,500 of Utilities Kingston's customers still have lead services. Each year Utilities Kingston has been
replacing about 250 of these lead services within the street right-of-way mostly in areas of street reconstruction at a
cost of more than $300,000.
Lead is also measured in the drinking water from copper services. Until 1987, lead was a component of the solder used
to join pipes. Even today, lead is a component of several metal alloys used to make plumbing fixtures.
Therefore, measurable amounts of lead will be found in all homes whether they have copper, iron or lead piping.
Kingston's water is drawn from Lake Ontario where the water is non-corrosive. Any lead levels found so far have
generally been low.
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Lead builds up in your body over many years and in large concentrations can cause damage to the brain, red blood cells
and kidneys. The greatest risk is to young children, pregnant women and their unborn babies. Amounts of lead that will
not affect the mental or physical well-being of adults could have an adverse effect on young children with their smaller
body weight.
Health and Welfare Canada and the Provinces have recently re-evaluated the existing lead standards for drinking water.
They have recommended that the maximum acceptable concentration for lead in a running sample be lowered from 50 parts
per billion (ug/l) to 10 ug/l. This change has recently been made to the Canadian Drinking Water Standards.
Lead is also present in food, old paint, dust, air and in certain types of pottery, crystal ware and in pewter. It is
estimated that drinking water makes up about 20% of a person's exposure to lead.
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If you live in a house with a lead service, flush the tap by letting the water run before drinking or cooking any time
the water in the tap has gone unused for more than six hours. The waters should run for about two minutes until the
water gets noticeably colder. You can conserve water by keeping a jug of this fresh tap water in the refrigerator.
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Reverse osmosis, lead removing filters and distillation units do remove lead dissolved in water. These systems can be
costly and require regular maintenance to function properly. If not properly maintained, these systems can promote
bacteria growth and other water quality issues.
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Bottled water is not necessarily lead-free. Check the label to see if it indicates the bottled water is free of lead.
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