Zero parts per billion is the safe level of lead in the water we drink. Any lead, at all, is unsafe. Who agrees? The EPA, CDC, World Health Organization, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all concur.
How much lead is in our water? According to EPA data reported by the NRDC, the National Resources Defense Council, between 2021 and 2024 community water systems serving over 250 million Americans had tap water with more than the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended level for school children of one part per billion of lead. That is 81% of the households getting their water from community systems. Worse, 44 million Americans have water now with at least 10 parts per billion of lead, the level at which, beginning in 2027, systems will be mandated by the EPA to take corrective measures. Again, the EPA is clear that the only safe lead level is zero:
“Lead is very dangerous to human health. For children, lead exposure can cause irreversible and life-long health effects, including affecting IQ, focus, and academic achievement.”
In comments to Eating in America, the world’s most cited nutrition scientist, Dr. Walter Willet of the Harvard School of Public Health, noted the gaping omission when this month’s Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report didn’t mention lead. Willett told me, the report:
“…left out lead in water, which has demonstrated adverse effects on cognitive development and is a real problem in the U.S., especially in communities with older water systems.”
Willett noted that due to Trump administration budget cuts:
“programs at the EPA for monitoring lead and other heavy metal contamination have already been disrupted and or eliminated.”
Willett further pointed out that instead of providing leadership on childhood lead exposure, which it failed to even mention:
“the report focused water concerns on fluoride, which has major benefits for the prevention of dental caries…”
Given Trump’s recent moves to control economic data, and the killing of the Household Food Security annual report, which could potentially reveal the hardships caused by the massive new Food Stamp cuts and Trump’s cuts to school food and food distributed to food pantries, it should be no surprise if national collection of data on the widespread lead contamination in our water supplies is soon discontinued.
What about lead in your water?
Your municipal records might tell you if the water pipe coming into your house or building from the street is lead or you can usually look at it where it enters in the basement to tell. Better yet, test your tap water in the kitchen, first thing in the morning. The Safe Drinking Water Act banned new lead in plumbing in 1986, but lead joints, solder, or fixtures installed prior to 1986 might be leaching lead into your tap water. Some states and utilities offer free tests.
