Lead water service pipes are a health issue for pregnant women, babies and children; take these steps to reduce your exposure.

In many older sections of Ontario towns, lead pipe is still in place for the service connection from the water main on the street to the house. These services were installed before the early 1950s. Since then copper pipe, and more recently polyethylene tubing, has been used. While the age of your house is a good first indicator, looking at the service pipe in the basement is the only sure way of knowing which material is in use.

Identifying lead pipe is simple. The pipe is soft, and when scraped with a screwdriver blade, knife blade or other similar tool, it shows a dull shine or lustrous grey surface, which will mark paper. If you find that you have a lead water service pipe, you can have a sample of your water tested by the City of London. To request a water sample test, email the City at lead testing (include your name, phone number and address) or call Water Quality Customer Service at 519-661-4739 during business hours.

Depending on the characteristics of the water (hardness, alkalinity, etc.) the lead can dissolve in higher or lower concentrations. Dissolved lead can cause health problems especially in babies and young children. The City of London claims that only about 10% of its services are lead pipe. A map showing in which areas lead service pipes are most likely to be found can be accessed here .

If you live in an area likely to have a lead service pipe, the City of London has a very informative page about lead and water here .

The first level of correction is to use a reputable water filter for all cooking and drinking water and to change it regularly as recommended. Choose one that is certified as meeting the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International standard for reducing lead by looking for the "ANSI/NSF 53" stamp on the filter packaging. Only use water from the cold tap with it, and let the water run until it is very cold to reduce the length of time that the water is in contact with the lead piping. This will reduce or possibly eliminate immediate exposure from ingestion.

The long term solution is to replace the service line with one of copper, or more likely now, one of polyethylene pipe. (If the lead pipe is removed and replaced in polyethylene, you must remember that you will no longer have an electrical ground, and will need to have a ground plate or ground rods installed and properly connected, for your electrical safety!)

In many towns, the municipality will replace the service line from the street water main to your property line after you replace the rest of the service line into your house. Often if the water main is being replaced, the municipality will replace the entire service. In London, Ontario, the City had established a pilot project (ending August 30, 2008) to fund the cost of replacing the lead service pipe on the private property through a loan to be repaid by the property owner. The pilot project has been implemented as a full scale programme, now ending December 31, 2010, and provides a 10 year loan repayable with the property tax bill for the property. The details can be found here . Applications must be submitted by August 30, 2010.

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