Lead in Your Home's Water: Why Kids Are Most at Risk — and What to Do Now

Of all the contaminants in tap water, lead is the one health agencies are bluntest about: there is no safe level. The CDC and EPA agree that even low exposure can cause irreversible harm — and children are hit hardest.

Why children

In a child's developing body, lead interferes with the brain and nervous system. It's linked to lower IQ, attention and behavior problems, and slowed development — effects that don't reverse. Infants who drink formula mixed with tap water are especially exposed, because so much of their diet is water. In adults, lead is associated with higher blood pressure, kidney problems, and heart disease.

It usually isn't the source water — it's the pipes

Lead rarely comes from the lake or aquifer your water starts in. It leaches in on the way to your tap, from lead service lines (the pipe connecting your home to the water main), older indoor plumbing, brass fixtures, and solder. An estimated 9.2 million lead service lines are still in use across the country.

Your utility's water can test clean and your home's water can still carry lead — because the lead is between the two.

Help is coming — slowly

In late 2024 the EPA finalized the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which require most water systems to replace their lead service lines within 10 years, lower the lead “action level” from 15 to 10 parts per billion, add testing in schools and child-care facilities, and provide filters when high lead keeps showing up. It's a genuine step forward — but the replacement clock runs to about 2037, so many homes will wait years.