Lead and Copper FAQs

Older plumbing might have a metallic aftertaste due to copper and iron corrosion.  
Hot water, poor plumbing, or stagnant water conditions (as when a house is closed for lengthy periods of time) can accelerate plumbing corrosion. Metallic tastes can also emerge when new plumbing or fixtures and metallic materials have not settled. 
 
Prince William Water's suppliers, Fairfax Water and City of Manassas, add a corrosion inhibitor to prevent metals from seeping into drinking water. Run cold water for a few minutes to freshen your home plumbing if your water tastes metallic.

Our Water Quality Report provides up-to-date information about the quality of your water.

For more information, please contact Prince William Water’s Regulatory Affairs Office at (703) 331-4162 or email water_quality@pwwater.org. 
 

Information about lead is also available on the below websites. Additional information is available from the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791; TTY 711 Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. 

Certified laboratories that analyze for lead are available and can be found by clicking here or by calling 804-225-4949, TTY 711. 

• Any time the water has been sitting unused for six hours or longer, flush your cold-water pipes by running the water until it becomes a constant temperature. Saving the water for other purposes, such as plant watering, is a good conservation measure.
• Use only water from the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking and especially for making baby formula. Hot water may contain higher levels of lead.
• Some people choose to install a water filter in their home. If you choose to do so, follow these three important suggestions:
  • Choose one designed for the specific filtration desired, such as lead.
  • Make sure the filter is approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (www.nsf.org).
  • Maintain the filter as directed by the manufacturer.

East and West Water Systems 

• The water distributed in the East and West Systems is purchased from Fairfax Water and the City of Manassas. Both water suppliers add a phosphate-based corrosion inhibitor and adjust the pH of the water to help prevent lead from leaching into your drinking water from household plumbing. 

Bull Run Mountain/Evergreen 

• Corrosion control for this public well system is limited to using sodium hydroxide for pH adjustment. Once pH is adjusted, the water is no longer excessively corrosive, promoting pipe longevity while reducing the leaching of lead into the distribution system and home plumbing. 

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. For infants and children, exposure to high levels of lead in drinking water can result in delays in physical or mental development. Infants who consume mostly mixed formula can receive a greater percentage because of the large volume of water they consume relative to their body size. For adults, exposure to high levels of lead can result in kidney problems or high blood pressure. Although the main sources of exposure to lead are ingesting paint chips and inhaling dust, the EPA estimates that 10 to 20 percent of human exposure to lead may come from drinking water.

The EPA action level of 15 parts per billion of lead in drinking water was established based on reasonable risk assessments. It is the level that requires additional corrective and educational actions but does not necessarily directly correlate to increased blood-lead levels. Blood-lead levels reflect a variety of factors, such as age; exposure to dusts, paint chips or soil containing lead; and the amount of water consumed daily. For women, pregnancy can also affect blood-lead levels. Nationally, the biggest source of increased blood-lead levels in children is the ingestion of lead-based paint chips. 

When lead testing is performed as required by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 90 percent of the samples must contain less than 15 parts per billion (ppb) of lead. EPA has established an action level for lead in water of 15 ppb, meaning that a water system with more than 15 ppb of lead in 10 percent of its samples may require changes to the water treatment process, replacement of lead service lines and public outreach. Fairfax Water and the City of Manassas, Prince William Water’s water suppliers, have been testing for lead in accordance with the Lead and Copper Rule since 1992 and have consistently tested below the action level established by the rule. 

Prince William Water's drinking water sources, including the Potomac River, Occoquan Reservoir, Lake Manassas, and the Bull Run/Evergreen Well System, do not contain any lead.

A source of lead in drinking water can be household plumbing. In 1986, lead was banned from use in pipes and solder for drinking water systems. In older homes, where lead is present in the service lines, plumbing fixtures and solder connections, it may leach into the water after the water sits for long periods of time.

The water Prince William Water purchases from Fairfax Water and the City of Manassas is treated with a corrosion inhibitor, which is added to help prevent lead from leaching from household plumbing into drinking water. 

As of late 2022/early 2023, Prince William Water is working on a service line inventory. Once the inventory is completed, it will be sent to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). 

All systems must make their lead service line inventories available to the public. In addition, all systems serving greater than 50,000 people must make their lead service line inventory publicly available. 

Once VDH approves the line inventory, Prince William Water will identify lead and copper sampling locations in areas that contain lead service lines. Also, 20 percent of the elementary schools and child care facilities in our service area will be sampled each year for the first five years. If the distribution system exceeds the 90th percentile for the EPA’s lead action level of 15 parts per billion, Prince William Water will be required to replace 3% of the lead service lines in the distribution system annually or until the system has two consecutive monitoring periods where all results are below the action level. 

Yes. The original Lead and Copper Rule required testing in Prince William Water’s distribution system as well as established action levels for both lead and copper when the rule was first published in 1991. 

All Prince William Water’s distribution systems have remained in compliance with the original Lead and Copper Rule since its inception. Additionally, Prince William Water partnered with Prince William County Schools and analyzed samples, for lead in school drinking water, under Virginia regulations that took effect in 2017. 

Prince William Water must conduct an inventory of all service lines on both Prince William Water’s side of the water meter and the property owner’s side of the meter. Prince William Water must submit the results to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) by October 16, 2024. The test results must classify all service lines in one of the following categories:

• Lead – where the service line is made of lead
• Non-Lead – where evidence indicates the service line is not made of lead
• Galvanized Requiring Replacement – where a galvanized service line is downstream of a current or former lead service line; or
• Lead Status Unknown – where there is no documentation or evidence to classify the material type 

The original Lead and Copper Rule set requirements for the frequency of lead and copper testing, volume requirements for water sampling, action and trigger levels for lead and copper, and necessary steps if those levels were met or exceeded.

The revised rule requires an inventory of all pipe materials from public water mains to privately owned structures, changes the volume of water required for a sample, enhances testing at schools and day care facilities, establishes public outreach requirements and defines lead service lines and replacement requirements. 

The revised rule is intended to minimize the risks of lead exposure in children and communities by better protecting children at schools and childcare facilities, safeguarding the nation’s drinking water and empowering communities through information. 

Here are a few video tutorials.

• https://youtu.be/PcO5FCE9Vfw?si=pGXLB3Zy8sQJ_igb
• https://youtu.be/ZaDp92DJB9c?si=cWttVFIEPCaL6voO
• https://youtu.be/AiU7GHzD_Ck?si=y9mwV9H6PmIVx4EM

Water service line pipes can consist of many different materials including lead, galvanized iron, brass, copper or plastic.  You can use the information below and/or watch the available video tutorial below to help you determine your water service line material and plumbing material.