**** Halifax Water Release
Lead in Drinking Water
Drinking water is essentially lead-free in Halifax Water’s distribution system prior to entering your private water service line.
Lead enters water through contact with the service line (the lateral/pipe from the water main in the street to a customer’s home) and interior household plumbing. Lead can leach into water from pipes, solder, brass fixtures, faucets, and fittings. This happens through corrosion, when metal dissolves or wears away due to a chemical reaction between water and water infrastructure.
Scroll down to learn about lead and water quality, how to identify a lead service, how to replace a lead service, replacement assistance programs and Halifax Water research and monitoring initiatives.
Following recent news stories around lead in Nova Scotian drinking water, our Lead Service Line Replacement Program team has been receiving a higher than normal volume of customer inquiries. As a result, response times will take longer than normal until these inquiries can be processed.
We thank those customers who have reached out for their interest in our programs. We ask that customers who think that they may have a lead service line check the map below.
- If your home is within the area shown on the map and was built before 1960, then your home may have a lead service line.
- If your home is not within the area shown on the map, then it is very unlikely your home has a lead service line, regardless of the age of the property.
How to Identify a Lead Service Line
Halifax Water is committed to reducing exposure to lead in drinking water and assisting customers in addressing all sources of lead in their drinking water. Sources of lead include but are not limited to: lead service lines, lead/tin solder, brass, and brass fittings.
Replacing lead pipes is the first step in removing lead from your drinking water and we would encourage you to consider replacing lead pipes and any associated plumbing fittings (including solder joints or valves) that may contain lead.
On August 22, 2017 the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board released a decision approving Halifax Water’s enhanced lead service line repair and replacement program. The decision is a significant step forward in Halifax Water’s on-going effort to replace lead service lines (the lateral/pipe from the water main in the street to a customer’s home).
This new program includes two funding components, as the financial aspect is often the biggest barrier to homeowners when they’re looking to replace their private lead service line.
All info: https://halifaxwater.ca/lead-drinking-water