Although we now know that lead exposure can be detrimental to our health, there was a time that the health effects of lead were less known and the metal was used in many of our public and residential water systems. Because many of those systems are still used today, lead exposure in drinking water continues to be a problem. Today we’re going to talk about how lead gets into our drinking water, its health effects and what you can do to remove it!
How does lead get into our drinking water?
Lead contamination rarely occurs in source water. Instead, water picks up lead any time that it travels through pipes that are made out of the toxic metal.
Although lead pipes are no longer installed in new homes, lead was once the most commonly-used material for residential plumbing systems. If your home was built before 1986, there’s a chance that it has lead pipes.
In addition, much our nation’s water infrastructure is more than 100 years old. That means that much of our nation’s water delivery system contains lead, and your water can pick up lead after it leaves the water treatment plant and travels to your home.
What are the health effects of lead in drinking water?
The consumption of lead through water has been linked to a number of serious health effects, including:
- Delayed physical and mental development in children
- Increased blood pressure in adults
- Pregnancy complications
- Damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system, red blood cells and reproductive system
How can you remove lead from your drinking water?
Installing a water filtration system in your home is the best way to avoid lead exposure in your drinking water. This will remove any traces of lead that were picked up as water traveled through your city’s pipes to your home. For the best results, install a whole house filtration system so that every tap will be lead free and you can avoid the health effects of lead from both drinking water and breathing it in during a shower.
In addition, if your home does happen to have lead pipes, consider installing an addition point-of-use system at your main drinking water tap. This will remove the lead that your water picked up from your home’s plumbing system and ensure that you always have a source of healthy, lead-free drinking water.
If you have any questions about lead in your drinking water, or if you’d like a water treatment system serviced or installed in your home, contact North Carolina Water Consultants. We provide service all over the Carolinas, including towns like Wadesboro, Casar and Mount Pleasant, NC.
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