Lead in Drinking Water

Learn more about the quality of water in your home. Since you cannot see, taste, or smell lead dissolved in water, testing is the only sure way of telling whether there are harmful quantities of lead in your drinking water.

There are water treatment methods such as reverse osmosis, distillation, and carbon filters specially designed to remove lead. Typically these methods are used to treat water at only one faucet .

It is unlawful to test drinking water without certification. Recently, companies, including prominent big-box retailers, have offered "free" testing in exchange for a sales pitch for expensive and often unnecessary treatment systems. Remember to have your water tested by an independent, certified laboratory before making any decision about treatment. Only a certified testing laboratory can provide an objective analysis of your drinking water.

This data story was created through a collaboration between the Rhode Island Department of Health and the RILDS Center. The project was supported by cooperative agreement number NUE1EH001364-05-03, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.  

Rhode Island's Environmental Public Health Tracking Program is part of a nation-wide network that provides information that allows people to understand and take action to prevent and control environmental hazards and related health effects. 

CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program delivers information and data to protect the nation from health issues arising from or directly related to environmental factors.