Birmingham Water Works warning: Your pipes could contain lead

More than 71,000 customers of Birmingham Water Works will receive letters next week asking them to check for lead pipes in their homes.

The 71,818 letters are part of new Environmental Protection Act rules that require the utility to notify households whose homes may be served by lead pipes. Letters are going largely to homes built before 1989.

The letters do not mean that recipients have lead in their water but do advise customers to check.

Checking means letting the utility check your lead risk. Some customers have already participated in voluntary in-home testing where the water works tests water from home faucets and is able to detect problems in homes whose pipes contain lead.

"We want our customers to be aware of potential lead issues, but we don't want them to be alarmed if they receive this letter," said Interim General Manager Darryl R. Jones. "The goal is to make sure our customers know if they have a risk in their home, and to give them information to address that risk."

The water works will provide water filter pitchers to customers if potential lead risks are discovered.

Lead is especially dangerous to children under the age of 6 and to pregnant women, according to the EPA. Exposure by children can cause brain damage, hearing loss, behavior problems and damage to the nervous system and kidneys, among other issues, according to the EPA.

Several factors determine who will receive letters including historical records, field inspections, and predictive modeling to determine if service lines are made of lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown, officials said.

Homes built after 1989 were excluded from notifications because their service lines are considered lead-free due to regulatory changes.

Lead can enter drinking water through corroded older plumbing materials, especially in homes built before 1986. Also, lead is present in some pipes of older water systems.

The water works earlier this year said it planned to develop a lead service line replacement plan and will prioritize replacement of any line that shows elevated lead levels.

That plan is part of a 2019 consent order with Alabama Department of Environmental Management which includes specifics for monitoring of lead and mandated that the water works assist customers in replacing service lines that contain lead.

Customers who do have lead service lines are advised to take several action steps.

• Use water filter pitchers that will be provided for free by water works.

• Request regular in-home to determine if the water from their inside faucets contains unsafe levels of lead.

•Customers may hire a plumber to replace their service lines with pipes that do not contain lead.

In April, more than 150 Birmingham residents living in Crestwood and North Birmingham received water filters and warnings about potential lead exposure and were advised to use the filters during ongoing water line construction.

Officials at the time said there was a possibility that some lead material may be disturbed during the water main replacement project.