Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Lead-free Water Again?

The Washington Water and Sewer Authority has announced that their testing indicates that the drinking water in the district is largely lead-free. WASA was at the center of a local scandal after it was revealed in 2004 that lead levels in many Washington homes were excessively high, and that the agency had hidden this from the public. Apparently a chemical that WASA added to the water was causing old leaden pipes to leech lead. The agency's solution has been to replace lead pipes with copper ones, and to change the chemical compounds in the water. So far this seems to be working, which is a relief to those of us who live in older structures.