Lead and Copper in Drinking Water

According to the U.S. EPA, exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems. To learn more about the U.S. EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule, including information on the health effects of lead as well as guidance on how to reduce lead exposure around your home, visit www.epa.gov/lead.

The U.S. EPA has developed an online step-by-step guide to help people identify lead pipes in their homes called Protect Your Tap: A Quick Check for Lead. It is available at: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead.

Water arrives to your service line lead-free from Citizens’ distribution system. However, depending on your service line material and in-home plumbing, there may be the potential for lead exposure. The following methods may reduce that potential:

1. Properly use a filter certified to remove lead (such as one certified by NSF or ANSI) for water used in drinking and cooking.

2. Flush your tap by running the water for five minutes before drinking if your water has been unused for more than six hours.

3. Avoid consuming water from the hot water faucet and do not use hot tap water to prepare baby formula. Boiling does not remove lead from water.

4. Regularly clean your faucet’s screen (also known as an aerator) of debris and sediment.

5. Check to see if your interior plumbing or faucets contain lead and replace any that do. Look for the “Lead Free” label when replacing or installing plumbing fixtures.

6. Consider using an alternative source for drinking and cooking water, such as bottled water if you do not wish to use the methods described above.

To learn more about minimizing lead exposure risk, visit the U.S. EPA’s page at www.epa.gov/lead.

Yes. Contact your county health department or primary care physician for additional information on blood lead testing.

Complete the request form that is located on the right-hand side of this webpage to request tap sampling. You will receive a sampling kit in the mail that contains information on how to sample your tap water and return the sample for analysis. The analytical results will be sent to you.

Citizens received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in 2022 to begin implementing a lead service line replacement program for customers. This program enables us to replace all customer-owned lead-containing service lines within our service territory – estimated to be between 55,000 and 75,000. We are reaching out to customers in upcoming project areas via mail, email, and text message. If you wish to replace the service line on your property at your own cost, Citizens will cover the cost of replacement of the portion of the service line in the right-of-way. For more information on the lead service line replacement program Citizens is implementing, including maps of where we are working, please visit www.citizensenergygroup.com/lslrp.

About 55,000 to 75,000 homes and businesses built before 1950 in the Indianapolis area may have lead service lines and lead plumbing. Service lines are the water lines that run from the utility’s water main to the customer’s home. These service lines are owned by customers. Some homes built before 1986 may also have lead solder in joints of copper pipe. Lead found in tap water usually comes from the corrosion of lead pipe or solder that connects the pipe. When water sits in leaded pipes for several hours, lead can leach into the tap water.

In accordance with U.S. EPA regulations, every three years Citizens gathers tap water samples from homes in areas where lead service lines and plumbing are common. The EPA action level for lead in drinking water is 15 parts per billion (ppb). Citizens is required to notify the public when test results show more than 10% of the homes tested have levels of lead above the 15 ppb action level.

In addition to regular monitoring of water, Citizens takes steps during the water treatment process to ensure corrosive elements do not cause lead to leach out of customer-owned lead service lines and plumbing.

Lead pipes are a dull gray color and scratch easily revealing a shiny surface.  Lead solder used to join copper pipes is a silver or gray color. If your house was built before January 1986, you are more likely to have lead-soldered joints. A quick way to identify lead pipe or solder is to use a magnet. If a magnet sticks to the pipe or solder, it is not lead. The most definitive way to determine if your service line and interior plumbing contains lead is to hire a licensed plumber. View a map of lead service lines in your area.

More information is available from U.S. EPA’s Lead in Drinking Water Webpage.

1. Identify and replace lead plumbing and fittings - Install fixtures and fittings that contain 0.25 percent lead or less. Until 2014, brass faucets and fittings sold in the U.S. and labeled "lead-free" could contain up to eight percent lead. Effective January 2014, the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act specifies that these materials may not contain more than 0.25 percent lead. 

2. Flush building water systems after periods of minimal or no water usage - Commercial buildings are often vacant during weekends and holidays and experience periods of water stagnation - minimal or no water usage. Water stagnation may cause a reduction in disinfection protection and cause increased bacterial growth in the building pipes. Locate the taps on each floor that are furthest from the floor's water service riser and flush the cold water taps for 10 minutes.

3. Check water fountains - Water fountains in schools and other commercial buildings may contain lead parts.  Specific brands of water fountains contain lead parts or have lead lined water tanks. Since 1988, it has been mandated that water fountains be lead free but older schools may have outdated models. Flush each fountain for one minute or install fountains with automatic flushing devices. Routinely change water fountain filters according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Water filters that are not routinely changed can accumulate impurities and promote bacterial growth.

4. Routinely clean and replace aerators - Particles can collect in the aerator screen located at the tip of faucets. Routinely remove and clean aerators and replace aerators every year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers the Training, Testing, and Taking Action Toolkit to reduce lead levels in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.

Citizens also works closely with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Indiana Finance Authority to sample schools and daycare facilities in our service territory. Additional information on their program can be found here: https://www.in.gov/ifa/lead-sampling-program/