# Freakin' lead in my water!



## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

I learned the results from my lead test yesterday: I have 45 microlitres of lead per litre of water in my house -- that's 4.5 times the maximum legal limit. %@*&!!

I have been using a Brita filter, but although it removes some lead, it doesn't remove enough of it, considering how high the lead levels are in my water.

I've had to order some cases of bottled water. I know that there are no lead pipes in my house, so it is definitely coming in from the mains (the city confirmed it) and possibly also the pipe between the main and the house. The city says that it will rip up the lead mains in my area some time soon "on a priority basis" (whatever that means), and, at that time, I'll still have to pay $3,000 or so to replace the pipe between my house and the main. Also, there's some research that shows that removing the lead pipes just by itself will cause lead levels to spike for a while, which means that I will probably have to continue using bottled water for a long time.

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!

If you live in a place that's older than the 1950s, you can get your water tested for lead for free.

Call 311 to find out how in your region. If you live in East York, test kits are available for free from the East York Civic Centre. You have to return the water samples to the Centre and they will call you with the lab results a few weeks later.

If you've got small kids, it's really important to avoid lead in foods, drinks, paints, etc. because lead can cause brain damage (worse than in adults).


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Yikes that is so scary!!! I should actually get a hold of a kit myself...


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

That's scary stuff.

What would of happened if you were sick from the lead?

Could you take action against the city?


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

What piping do you have in the house? Is it copper or Pex (plastic). By new plumbing code lines for potable water can not be soldering with the 50/50 (lead) solder wire.
It must be lead-free alloys. Contact city

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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

if you are on Danforth, your house is very old I assume there is not just cupper but also metal water lines in the house



sig said:


> What piping do you have in the house? Is it copper or Pex (plastic). By new plumbing code lines for potable water can not be soldering with the 50/50 (lead) solder wire.
> It must be lead-free alloys. Contact city


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Get an RO unit. That should remove most of the lead.

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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

1. No point in taking action against the city. They're slated to remove the lead water main, and Toronto is also one of the most aggressive cities _in the world_ at getting rid of lead pipes and monitoring water quality.

2. The pipes in the house are all either PVC or copper (mostly copper) and up to code. I know this because the plumbing was redone this past summer.

3. R/O is probably too expensive.


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

If you go with the RO unit, check to make sure that lead is removed. Lead may be a small enough atom to get through the membrane.

Lee


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

The RO membrane should have no problem removing lead from water, however, you should check just to be sure.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

characinfan said:


> 3. R/O is probably too expensive.


By the time you are done buying bottled water, RO will have been cheaper


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## waj8 (Jun 30, 2010)

Talk about confusing me with units. What is the that concentration in units I can understand like mg/l. Why a volume measurement? Sometimes people get really concerned just because the allowable limit has changed. Meanwhile people have been drinking the same water for 100 years. Mind you, I wouldn't be drinking it either.


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

A microlitre is 0.001 millilitres, so I have 0.045 ml of lead in every litre of water in my house.


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## waj8 (Jun 30, 2010)

So lead has a density of 11.3 grams/ml. That means that .045ml x 11.3 grams/ml= .5 grams of lead per liter. Seems like a lot, No?


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## eeep (Dec 2, 2010)

characinfan said:


> I have 45 microlitres of lead per litre of water in my house -- that's 4.5 times the maximum legal limit.


Is it not 45 micrograms per litre? Since the maximum allowable lead concentration in drinking water is 10 ppb, this would be more in line with being 4.5 times the legal limit. Otherwise, that really would be a lot of lead.


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## waj8 (Jun 30, 2010)

That's what I was thinking too. 45 micrograms per liter is actually a very small amount of lead. The allowable limit has been dropping over the years so what used to be OK is now considered unacceptable. There is still cause for concern though.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

I would have gone for a RO unit. If anything it'll do you good too.

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## Kajendra (Dec 12, 2010)

Assuming a person drinks 1.5L of water a day, how long before you break even?
Not including gas costs for transporting :/

You could use the RO unit for discus or w.e later too :/


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Kajendra said:


> Assuming a person drinks 1.5L of water a day, how long before you break even?
> Not including gas costs for transporting :/
> 
> You could use the RO unit for discus or w.e later too :/


Oh, I use more than 1.5 L of drinking water per day. Yesterday alone was close to 4: I made pasta. (I'm using bottled water until I figure out the RO situation, and it's easy to count the bottles).

I'm looking into RO units now, and what's weird is that companies are quoting me much higher prices when I specify that it's for drinking water than if I say it's for an aquarium. . .


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Probably because most people just use 2-stage for their aquariums, but for drinking water they are likely quoting for 5-stage RO systems or something along those lines.


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

*lead update*

All right. I didn't buy an RO unit. I did lots of investigation into them and decided that it would be cheaper in the long term to replace the lead pipe leading from the water main to the house.

The pipe was replaced in February and the replacement cost $1,600 (including tax, labour, etc.)

It took until mid-summer before the lead dropped to reasonable levels -- all the copper pipes in the house had been accumulating a layer of lead from when the lead pipe to the main was still there, and that thin layer took a while to dissolve and wash away.

I spent a total of around $200 in bottled water and (once the lead got low, but not quite drinkable-low) $60 in Mavea (like Brita) filters.

The water is fine now.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Good to hear! Is the city helping defray the costs of the replacement or is it wholly up to the homeowner(you)?


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

That was actually a fairly reasonable price IMHEO.


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> Good to hear! Is the city helping defray the costs of the replacement or is it wholly up to the homeowner(you)?


It's wholly up to the homeowner, though if you have small children and/or are financially in trouble, there are grants to help out.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Yeah I think that's right. After the water box, it's all belonging to the homeowner and therefore their responsibility.


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