Lead
Overview
Lead is rarely in the source water. It usually enters at the home, from corrosion of older plumbing, solder, and brass fixtures. That is why it is measured at the tap. Running cold water before use lowers exposure.
In Florida, Lead was found in 190 community water systems serving about 981,084 people. 6 of those readings were above the federal legal limit, together serving 4,953 people.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Nelson's Fish Camp in Marion County, at 640% of it.
Where it comes from: Corrosion of household plumbing; erosion of natural deposits.
The standards
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California OEHHA PHG (2009). For comparison the legal limit is 15 ppb.
Health effects the EPA associates with it: In infants and children: delays in physical or mental development. In adults: kidney problems and high blood pressure.
The health goal is set on health alone. The legal limit is set as close to it as is technically and economically feasible, so treatment cost and available technology are written into the number a utility is measured against. A system at or under the limit is meeting the standard it is required to meet. Both numbers are shown so the distance between them is visible.
What removes it
Lead almost never comes from the treatment plant. It comes from the service line, from solder, and from brass fittings inside the house, which is why a utility's number can be low while yours is not. A filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead, at the tap you drink from, is the direct fix. Reverse osmosis and distillation also remove it. Running a tap that has stood overnight for a minute before drinking reduces what leached in while it sat. Boiling does not remove lead, it concentrates it. The permanent answer is replacing lead-bearing plumbing.
Treatment guidance describes the methods generally used for this contaminant. What your own tap actually carries depends on your plumbing and your service line as much as on the utility, which is what a test at the house tells you and an annual report cannot.
Where in Florida
Highest reported levels
Showing the 25 highest of 190 systems that reported Lead.
Data Sources
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.