Refurbishment of lead communication pipes

Why are you carrying out the work?

As the result of a new European law (EC Directive 98/83/EC Quality of
Water intended for Human Consumption) a new, stricter standard for lead will
come into force. The current standard is 25 g/l and the new standard will be
10 g/l. The measure for lead is parts per billion so the quantity of lead
allowed in drinking water is already extremely small.

Why is the work important?

Yorkshire Water are working with the Drinking Water Inspectorate (a part of
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and other water
companies to understand how many lead pipes are still in use and how
treatment has reduced the levels of lead.

How can lead get into my water supply?

Water produced by Yorkshire Waters treatment works contains no detectable
lead. However, if the pipe connecting your home to the water main is lead,
then lead can be present in your water supply. The lead content can increase
if the water remains in the lead pipe for an extended period.

Why are lead pipes still in use?

Lead pipes were used in many parts of Yorkshire until approximately 1960,
after this the use of lead pipe was prohibited. More recently the use of lead
based solders for the jointing of copper pipe and fittings for drinking water has
also been prohibited.

What have you done to decrease the risk of lead in the water?
We have provided new equipment at our water treatment works to treat water
so that an inert coating is formed on the lead pipe interior. This has
dramatically reduced the presence of lead at the customers tap. This is often
referred to as reducing the plumbosolvency of the water

Why has my area been chosen for this work?

The area in which you live has been identified as having lead communication
pipes.

What happens next?

You may shortly be contacted by one of our contract partners, Balfour Beatty
and Morrisons Utility Services, who will be undertaking this work on our
behalf. If you want to find out more about this work please contact our
Customer Services Department on 0844 8481099 (Monday to Thursday 8am-
5.30pm and 8am-5pm on Friday).