Orleans News

How a lot lead is in your water?


By Rebecca Malpass

Rebecca Malpass

New Orleans is among the many prime ten cities in America with probably the most lead pipes, with not less than 57,000 pipes throughout the town needing substitute. The difficulty is, we don’t know the place all of them are situated or how a lot lead residents are uncovered to by way of their faucet water.

Lead publicity from faucet water is usually brought on by lead-pipe corrosion. Lead pipes can exist within the metropolis’s underground infrastructure (the “public facet” of a line), beneath a house owner’s property (the “personal facet” of a line), and inside a house’s particular person plumbing system. 

Older lead pipes usually tend to be corroded, that means tiny bits of lead can flake off into faucet water because it runs by way of the pipe and enters households. Corrosion occurs over time and is exacerbated by a low pH or mineral content material of the water pumped by way of the pipe.

Lead pipes create a considerable public well being danger. There’s completely no secure quantity of result in ingest. Kids, together with roughly 78,000 youngsters beneath the age of 18 in Orleans Parish, and pregnant girls are most in danger. Publicity to guide—together with by way of faucet water—can injury the mind and kidneys, inhibit the event of the nervous system, trigger behavioral issues and miscarriages, and extra.


The Water Collaborative’s totally skilled interns will come to resident houses, take correct and exact samples, and ship the samples on to a nationally licensed laboratory for evaluation.

With out correct and correct information, we are able to’t confidently say that we’re not consuming, cooking, or washing meals and dishes with lead-contaminated water.

The Water Collaborative of Better New Orleans (TWC) helps residents decide if and the way a lot they’re being uncovered to guide by way of faucet water. The group’s lead testing program began in Might and can proceed to supply free and handy testing to Orleans Parish residents by way of mid-September.

In contrast to the Sewerage and Water Board’s (S&WB) free lead testing, TWC’s totally skilled interns will come to resident houses, take correct and exact samples, and ship the samples on to a nationally licensed laboratory for evaluation. Residents want solely be dwelling when samples are collected and guarantee their water has not been used for six hours earlier than assortment. All residents obtain their dwelling’s outcomes as quickly as they’re returned to TWC, which is often round three weeks, a a lot shorter turnaround time than S&WB’s typical 60-day window.

Transparency and belief within the information are essential for our peace of thoughts. Shortly and precisely understanding how a lot lead we’re every uncovered to in our faucet water is a game-changer for the neighborhood. TWC’s lead testing program helps residents uncover important details about their dwelling’s faucet water high quality and make knowledgeable selections to guard themselves and their households from lead publicity.

TWC gives an authorized lead filter (or a present card) as a thank-you to residents who take part within the examine. Providing filters that take away lead from water is a method that TWC is discovering options and serving to to fight lead publicity. 

In the end, TWC will compile the information it collects right into a public report to assist neighborhood leaders and authorities companies higher perceive and mitigate city-wide lead publicity, carry important funding to the town for lead service line removing, and inform New Orleans’ story, to struggle for clear water.

TWC encourages Orleans Parish residents to join its free lead testing as quickly as attainable, as this system ends in September. Residents can join right here or electronic mail Taya Fontenette at taya@nolawater.org.

Rebecca Malpass is the Coverage & Analysis Director for The Water Collaborative of Better New Orleans, a nonprofit devoted to making sure everybody can dwell and thrive with water.


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