...pipe was generally used for incoming water lines...?

Hi!
I generally try to be a good citizen but given that I pay for various scale governmental employees (full disclosure, even myself), I don't like to be hassled, no matter whatever the the scale.

We built our house in 2008, the first house in this subdivision was built in 2003 or '04. I know that by post-2000, lead was a naughty metal and probably not much used any more in home plumping. Please tell me if I'm wrong.

Fast forward to less than two weeks ago and the wife finds a flyer hanging on our front door from the city government (but the web site ends with .com) that they want us to test our water intake pipe to see if its lead or not. Their main thing is to "take a quarter and scratch the pie to get some bare metal and use a magnet to see if it sticks". We were then supposed to enter our data and results via their web site.

I didn't get around to it right away so sometime this past week, we get a mailing from our city government to complete our water pipe "testing" so today I decided to humor them. I fully expected that we probably had galvanized steel pipe coming into the house given their insistence on using a magnet against the pipe. Surprise, surprise, I walk up to the line and see green patina coming through our brown paint in various locations. I have better tools than a "quarter" to get down to the bare metal so in the four places I used a file, it shows up "coppery"-- imagine that!! The whole system above ground going into our foundation is copper piping with brass fittings and valves. Again, hard to believe!!

So, the wife and I tried to finish our survey and enter the results tonight but the hang up is that they want a "picture" of our pipe testing. Well, its not going to happen now because it's dark and I'm po'ed. They have some bs wording that such a picture is "confidential" and is "only going to be used for educational purposes". However, they're not going to let us finish submitting our survey results without uploading the photo. I may take a photo of my pipe filing area after the sun comes up or I may not.

Long story short, I would think such a survey could be cut down quite a bit by answering a single question first, such as "when was your house built?" and if you answered, say such as 2008 as for us, that should end the survey right there. Our permanent city government isn't the largest brain trust out there and I think they are just along for the ride on this deal, some bigger gorilla up the line, such as the US EPA, is probably threatening to take their birthdays aways if they don't play along. The whole thing isn't that big of a deal but is just overall mind numbing...

Last legally allowed in mid 1984. The reason for the survey is that the EPA has tightened the lead and copper rule. Thank the city of Flint, Michigan for the headache.

The reason for the picture is to prove that is what it is. Apparently homeowners are idiots and can't be trusted.

Is there something wrong with water coming through copper pipes...?

1980”s is when they stopped using lead ….. it is an epa regulation that is requiring municipalities to check water level service lines …. I believe the deadline for ours to be submitted is mid October …..

Lead was allowed it plumbing fixtures or faucets unlill 2000 some thing. I remember homedepo closing their stock out before the law went into effect….

Nothing wrong with copper.

Unless you have acidic water,,,,, over time it can be a nightmare,.

It still is. Less than one percent. I don't remember the exact amount. The price of brass fittings almost doubled. Harder to machine the low-lead brass.

If you are on city water ,,,,,,, i would be more worried about what the treatment and the additives………
They the lead

Exactly!! Almost no one in my bedroom town likes the city water because they "went cheap" when a big regional water system got going bringing up Missouri River water up to the Sioux Falls area (later into sw MN and nw IA to get more political support) and the city didn't sign up for it. Our water is heavily mineralized and probably corrosive as appliances wear out finally fast.

Plastic piping is no bargain as far as being pure

Better comply with their mandates A.S.A.P.
or they'll banish you to exile in Flint, Michigan !!!

Can we trap anything in Flint, Michigan ...

We got a notice about ours about 2 years ago. They were testing all the houses built before 1980.

They sent a college student out and she look at the lines right at the meter, took a few pictures and took a small scraping.

She told me when she was done that I would be good. She said that you wouldn't believe the houses in our town that were self built that had lead pipes in them. She said this town went nuts when they started talking about banning lead pipe and people went out and bought it in bulk because of it's cheapness.

Only if it’s carbonated.

I got a notice from my town. Didnt want pictures. Pipe from the meter is galvanize. Under the house all pex. I just tossed it. I am happy with what I have. I don't feel like its any of the governments business what I use for water. Have not heard any more. It's a small town. I suspect somebody filled it out for me. Lots of people are aware that I replaced the galvanize under the house with pex. So far have not needed to replace the line from the meter. When I do I think I will rent a mini track hoe.

Yeah, I think its "pex" under my yard from the street, at least its plastic at the base of the copper next to the house. Mostly more flexible plastic water lines through the house. The only copper inside the house is in the "basement" utility room.

To clarify........you are saying that once upon a time homes were built with actual lead pipe? Not just lead solder used on copper pipe, but actual lead?

Have seen galvanized steel, copper, pvc and now PEX, but never lead. There was a failed first generation plastic gray polybutylene precurser to PEX, but most of that is gone by now.

My house from 1937 had lead pipes. Still has the down pipes in lead, I changed all the others though......jk