Town to test water for lead and copper

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: September 5, 2008

The Culpeper Department of Environmental Services will test for copper and lead in the drinking water of older homes around town beginning Monday as part of its regular three-year schedule of doing so.

The Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water requires that the town — and public water sources statewide — test for the toxins because older homes outfitted with copper pipes and lead solder joints pose a higher risk for contamination; PVC piping is the standard material these days.

A town news release says, however, that just because a home has copper pipes does not necessarily mean residents face an increased exposure to lead or copper in their water.

Since the town started the testing in the early 1990s, results have always come back clean, said John Morgan, laboratory supervisor with the environmental services department.

“Historically, we have had no compliance issues with lead or copper in the water,” he said.

Monday morning, the department will leave a container and letter explaining the testing process on the doorsteps of 60 select homes.

Residents are asked to collect a water sample from a kitchen or bathroom faucet that hasn’t been used for at least six hours. This allows any lead or copper in the water to “settle out” and the town to collect true results, Morgan said.

The letter will provide pertinent details, including information about labeling the bottle. The town asks that the samples be placed out for pickup by Wednesday morning.

From that point, the samples will go to Richmond for testing; this involves no cost to the resident. If the results reveal levels of lead or copper above acceptable federal and state standards, the town must notify the public and take corrective action.

According to Morgan, unacceptable levels are: lead measur-ing higher than .015 milligrams per liter of water or copper exceeding 1.30 milligrams per liter.

Hugh Eggborn, engineering field director with the Culpeper Office of Drinking Water, said there are more than 100 contaminants in public water supplies for which the Environmental Protection Agency requires regular testing.

The town’s testing Monday for lead and copper is a standard practice, he said.

The fact that the town is required to do the testing every three years instead of every year shows that town water samples, year after year, do not exceed levels by which corrective action would be mandated.

“If all the testing goes well, then eventually the waterworks gets to sample at a reduced frequency of once every three years,” Eggborn said of the town’s record.

Lead and copper in drinking water typically does not originate with the water source, he added, but with a home’s plumbing.

“It’s been well-known for many years that the easiest way of avoiding high lead and copper in drinking water is to simply flush or open the tap and let the water run for a few seconds up to a few minutes,” he said.

The EPA estimates that 15 to 20 percent of a person’s exposure to lead comes from drinking water. If consumed in excessive quantities, it can cause health problems, especially in young children.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or

Questions about the town’s water testing? Contact John Morgan, laboratory supervisor, at 825-4717.