According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lead contamination in water is linked to developmental disabilities and other long-term health problems including anemia, neurological problems, kidney failure and even death.
Since 2012, some areas of Denver have experienced increasing levels of lead in drinking water due to outdated lead pipes. This has prompted a series of tests and ultimately a 15-year plan to replace the old lead service lines.
Sources of Lead in Denver Water
While Denver Water supplies lead-free water to most households and businesses, the water can become contaminated through many old systems that the water passes through. These systems can include lead service lines, copper pipes with lead solder and even faucets containing lead.
Lead pipes in Denver affect 64,000 to 84,000 homes. In addition, every time lead is introduced into a pipe in a home, it has the potential to enter a municipal water system connected to the house.
Denver Lead Service Lines
The service lines throughout Denver are the underground pipes that bring the mainline water from the street to the plumbing in a home. For centuries, lead was a convenient material used in water pipes because its malleability makes it easy to bend and mold to shape. In fact, the word plumbing itself comes from plumbum, the Latin word for lead.
With more information available today on the effects of lead exposure, the focus has shifted from material practicality to water quality and health. Today, Denver Water is conducting tests to identify service lines that need to be replaced.
Denver Water Lead Reduction Program
Denver Water will oversee the implementation of the Denver Lead Water Action Plan for the entire city. The plan consists of testing, surveys, pipe replacements and water filter installation. The lead service line replacement is estimated to take 15 years to fully complete.
As residents wait to have a suspected or confirmed lead pipe replaced, Denver Water will provide a free water filter to them. Denver Water is also taking steps to help customers with regular testing of their water by providing free lead test kits to anyone who requests one. The goal of the program is to reduce the likelihood of lead entering drinking water by bypassing lead pipes installed in the 1900s - which includes water pipes owned by customers.
What’s in Your Water?
Many of us are unaware of what’s really in our water or where it comes from. Since some Denver residents will be waiting as long as 15 years for lead pipes to be removed, many will turn to the free filters to remove lead in the short term.
Relying on filters to remove unwanted chemicals helps to reduce lead, asbestos, and chlorine, but may not eliminate them completely. Filters may also be less than fully effective in removing contaminants such as ammonia, pesticides, trihalomethanes, pharmaceuticals and other unwanted chemicals.
Consequently, it's important to look at what a filter doesn't remove rather than being satisfied with what it does remove. Also, if filters are not changed regularly, bacteria can reach high levels, and this can be a problem of its own.
Don’t Want to Wait 15 Years?
There is another alternative for getting better water in Denver. Right here in Colorado, there is a natural filter from Mother Earth that continually produces pure, perfect spring water. The artesian springs located in Eldorado Springs, Colorado (just outside Boulder, Colorado) emanate from one of the most unique water sources in the world.
Immense, natural artesian spring pressure forces the water through a layer of sandstone up to the surface in Eldorado Springs, creating a natural filtering system. Eldorado spring water is water in its purest form. It’s purity you can trust and taste. As we always say, “You can’t manufacture natural.”
If you’re a Denver area resident and have thought about looking for a more natural source for your drinking water, now is a good time to consider spring water delivered right to your doorstep. And if you’re not sure how much water you and your family need, try our water calculator.
Don’t wait for lead in Denver drinking water to be resolved. Take charge of your health by ordering Eldorado Natural Spring Water delivered to your home today.
