Keeping Yourself Safe From Lead in Your Magic Valley Drinking Water

22 Oct Keeping Yourself Safe From Lead in Your Magic Valley Drinking Water

Lead can cause serious side effects in children and even adults. For adults exposed to lead, some of these side effects can include increased blood pressure, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems. For children, it can lead to behavior issues, decreased IQ, hearing problems and even death. Therefore, it is important to take the proper steps to ensure your drinking water is not contaminated with lead.

Testing Water for Lead

If you receive your water from a community water system, the water supply company is required to provide you with an annual water quality report. In addition, if problems are identified with the water, the company is required to notify you of this issue. If you get your water from a well, on the other hand, you will have to get your water tested yourself.

One step you can take if you have well water is to check with the health department and with nearby water utilities to see if contaminants are a concern in your area. You can also have your water tested specifically for lead in order to determine if it is safe. Since you cannot taste, see or smell lead that is dissolved in water, testing is the only way to know for sure if your water is safe.

Protecting Yourself from Lead Exposure

If you are concerned about the possibility of being exposed to lead through your drinking water, there are also some steps that you can take to help minimize the exposure. These include:

• Use cold water when getting water from the tap for drinking, preparing baby formula and cooking. Remember, boiling does not remove lead from water.
• Before using water from the tap for consumption, flush your pipes by taking a shower, doing laundry, washing a load of dishes or simply running your tap.
• Clean the faucet screen on a regular basis.
• Use a water filter designed to remove lead and replace it as recommended.

If possible, you should also look into removing and replacing those pipes in your Magic Valley home that contain lead.

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