What is the deal with lead in the water?

[Zaz]

As a newcomer to Hamilton, I learned about the kids' testing for lead last year in lower Hamilton and how astonishingly little was publicized about the process and findings. My neighbour says the testing itself was not metioned in schools and most parents did not know to bring their children in for testing.

What is the scoop on this? Is there a real danger? Is someone trying to keep a lid on the issue? Are some of the water mains really made of lead? What kind of filtering solutions do you have setup in your house, if any?

[omro]

Originally Posted by Zaz

As a newcomer to Hamilton, I learned about the kids' testing for lead last year in lower Hamilton and how astonishingly little was publicized about the process and findings. My neighbour says the testing itself was not metioned in schools and most parents did not know to bring their children in for testing.

What is the scoop on this? Is there a real danger? Is someone trying to keep a lid on the issue? Are some of the water mains really made of lead? What kind of filtering solutions do you have setup in your house, if any?

The only thing I know about it all is that my brother said that the city would test his water for lead, but I don't recall asking if he'd done that or had any results.

[SteelTown]

Old pipes has lead. You can get a grant from City Hall to replace the pipes. Check with Bob Bratina, he'll give you all the required information.

[SteelTown]

Lead Pipe Service Replacement Program......

http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/...ipeProgram.htm

[BrianE]

I think everybody that the City believed might have lead pipes was sent an information package in the mail. I know I got one. It outlined how to check if you have lead pipes leading into your house, what to do if you have lead pipes, how to apply to the Cities assistance program to pay for replacing the pipes.

There have been a number of articles in the Spec about this. As far as I know the few schools or City owned buildings where lead was a problem have been addressed or are being addressed.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by Zaz

As a newcomer to Hamilton, I learned about the kids' testing for lead last year in lower Hamilton and how astonishingly little was publicized about the process and findings. My neighbour says the testing itself was not metioned in schools and most parents did not know to bring their children in for testing.

What is the scoop on this? Is there a real danger? Is someone trying to keep a lid on the issue? Are some of the water mains really made of lead? What kind of filtering solutions do you have setup in your house, if any?

The study for testing lead levels in kids, was very much publized in The Spec during the late summer and fall. It's on hold right now because the issue with lead decreases in colder weather. My understanding is that it will begin again in the spring time when the weather warms up.

To be clear with the Lead Pipe replacement program, it's an interest charging loan program that is added to your tax bill and paid back over a period of time.

Filters for lead must meet the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International standard for reducing lead and you can confirm by looking for the "ANSI/NSF 53" stamp on the filter packaging.

[coalminecanary]

If the line coming to your house is lead, you can tell by going to the point of entry (as close to the wall/ground as you can get), and scratch the pipe with a knife or a screwdriver. If it is soft enough that you can scratch a line in it, it's lead.

If that is the case, you can get the city to loan you the funds to replace your portion of the line. (You have to pay for the replacement from your lot line to your house - this is what the loan covers). The city covers the porton from the lot line to their main. The way it works is:

1. Call city, they send an inspector to verify that it is lead.
2. get some quotes from contractors
3. pay to get your half replaced, get an invoice from the contractor
4. submit invoice and the req'd form to the city
5. they cut you a chq to cover your costs
6. they add that amount plus interest to the next 10 years of your property taxes
7. the city eventually comes to replace their half

we did this and it took about 6 months total since we did our portion right before winter and by the time we were in line for the city's half, it was too cold for them to do it - had to wait til spring.

[oldcoote]

Originally Posted by coalminecanary

If the line coming to your house is lead, you can tell by going to the point of entry (as close to the wall/ground as you can get), and scratch the pipe with a knife or a screwdriver. If it is soft enough that you can scratch a line in it, it's lead.

If that is the case, you can get the city to loan you the funds to replace your portion of the line. (You have to pay for the replacement from your lot line to your house - this is what the loan covers). The city covers the porton from the lot line to their main. The way it works is:

1. Call city, they send an inspector to verify that it is lead.
2. get some quotes from contractors
3. pay to get your half replaced, get an invoice from the contractor
4. submit invoice and the req'd form to the city
5. they cut you a chq to cover your costs
6. they add that amount plus interest to the next 10 years of your property taxes
7. the city eventually comes to replace their half

we did this and it took about 6 months total since we did our portion right before winter and by the time we were in line for the city's half, it was too cold for them to do it - had to wait til spring.

Use Baldasaro Plumbing.

The best and the cheapest in the city.

[Duckyboy]

I work for the city in the Waster/Wastewater dept. and coalminecanary pretty much explained it best. And yes, Baldasaro does A TON of business with us; and has pretty much the best track record, too.

Any questions you might have, you can call 905-546-4426 and talk to a CSR; they know all about it.

Also, you can come down to the Water Dept. at 330 Wentworth N. Walk in, then turn to your left and come up to the counter and someone will help you out with any questions.

Even if you're not going to/cannot afford to replace your pipes, get what's called a "Size and Type" done on your property. This is a free service and will identify wheather or not you have lead. At least then you know!

[coalminecanary]

We used baldasaro and they quoted significantly less than anyone else, worked very quickly and were very friendly. Highly recommended.

Note that the city will not even put you on the list for doing their half of the line until after your half is completed. If it's something you want to do, I highly recommend starting asap.

The only thing I would have doe differently was to get 1 inch instead of 3/4 inch... slightly more cost but if you're going to do it, might as well do it once.

I still have to changine the line from my meter to my hot water heater to 3/4 - it's still 1 inch so the pressure improvement has been minimal so far.

If you are in lower hamilton, it's very likely you have lead unless it's already been changed or your house is newer than average. It's easy to check though. One thing to watch for is that it's likely been changed inside the house to copper already, so you have to do the scratch test as close to the point of entry as possible. In our case, the pipe came out the floor and we had to dig 3 inches down to find a coupler from lead to copper... so if you find copper, keep digging as far back as you can just in case!

[Zaz]

The point of entry in our house is copper and it looks like there was replacement work done (the concrete around the pipe looks newer than the rest of the basement). I will call the city and ask if they have any records of the replacement.

Are there labs in the area that would test water samples for lead and other pollutants?

Thanks everyone, this helps a lot!

[highwater]

When you talk to the city, ask about testing. They should be able to tell you.