Approaches to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water through Education

Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters the body from drinking water or other sources, such as food, paint, dust, or soil. The greatest risk of lead exposure is to infants, young children, and pregnant women.

Lead is regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act's Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) regulations. The standard for lead in drinking water is called an “action level” (AL). Whenever the concentration of lead goes above the AL, water systems are required to educate residents about exposure to lead through public education requirements.

EPA reviewed the public education requirements of the LCR because of the variability of lead concentrations across the water system, and the range of susceptibility of consumers. In 2007, EPA published final regulations for the newly revised public education requirements of the LCR which are meant to improve the public's understanding of lead. The new requirements are designed to help consumers receive the information they need in a timely manner to limit their exposure to lead in drinking water. The new regulations also established a requirement for education about lead in consumer confidence reports that residents receive from water suppliers.

To focus on the consumers at greatest risk, EPA has developed the 3Ts concept: Training, Testing, and Telling to assist schools and child care centers with implementation of programs to reduce lead in drinking water. EPA has developed a multi-prong approach to assist in the reduction of lead in drinking water.