What Does Lead in Water Taste Like?

What Does Lead in Water Taste Like?

If we could taste lead in water, public health and safety would be much simpler.

However, you cannot see, smell, or taste lead in drinking water.

Lead is Flavorless and Dangerous

Lead exposure can lead to serious illness and disability.

This is especially true in infants and children under 6.

Some symptoms of lead exposure in young children are:

1. Abdominal pain
2. Developmental delay
3. Learning difficulties
4. Fatigue
5. Weight loss
6. Irritability
7. Hearing loss

If exposure is prolonged, these symptoms can develop into chronic problems.

How to Know if Your Water Has Lead in it

“Your local water authority is always your first source for testing and identifying lead contamination in your tap water.” – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Contact your local water department to request a home water assessment.

When you call or email, ask if you have a service line connected to your house that contains lead piping.

If the answer is yes, ask if there are programs to assist with lead line removal.

Remove Lead in Your Water

Cities should be working to correct lead contamination in the water supply.

However, they don’t always move as fast as we would like.

While you work with your city officials, take steps to protect yourself and your family:

• Find a good home water filter.
• Learn its effectiveness.
• Filter all water used for drinking and cooking.

Our Recommendations:

After studying the water quality of 788 U.S. cities, we have two recommendations for home water filters:

1. For years of use and simple installation: Berkey filters
2. For longer term – requiring a plumber: Pentair Water Systems

You can learn more about both on our Water Filters page.

Interested in Other Contaminants?

Use the search bar below to find out what other contaminants are in your city’s water: