Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

hurricanetruther t1_j2u0nmt wrote

You really shouldn't because of lead. Lead in pipes is everywhere in Providence as our housing stock is so old.

You can have your water tested if you're not sure, but if you have an old house/pipes then assume you have lead and filter it accordingly.

3

iandavid t1_j2ujb56 wrote

You don’t have to assume, you can just look at the map: https://engineering.provwater.com/gis/servicelinesearch

10

GotenRocko t1_j2xd962 wrote

That's only for the city side though. Before flint the percentage of owners that had their private side of the service replaced was very low. So better to get it tested to know for sure.

3

hurricanetruther t1_j2wo6tm wrote

Wow, cool tool they put together, incorporating the best guess for private lines. (Is accurate for the 6 houses I know, all lead)

2

soulorbiter t1_j2u6vta wrote

Seconded. Replacing a lead service line is an expensive job, so unless your house has been extensively updated (or is newer), you likely have at least a lead service line, if not other lead pipes in your house. If you have access to your service line where you live (e.g. you have access to the basement), it's simple to check if that pipe is lead. You can get a free lead water testing kit from Providence Water if you'd like to test it. For what it's worth, a Providence Water employee told me that the city water is safe to drink if you don't have lead pipes in your house.

5

iandavid t1_j2uj8cg wrote

Replacing a lead service line can be expensive, but Providence Water will share the cost (i.e. they’ll cover the cost of the part in the street up to the property line) and they offer a 10-year, zero-interest loan for the part on your property.

The wait list is long but it’s worth doing. Info here: https://provwater.com/water_quality/lead-center/wslinformation

6

beta_vulgaris t1_j2ukxoh wrote

This is free in some neighborhoods! Mine was replaced last fall at no cost to me.

4

soulorbiter t1_j2v0g9g wrote

The street part is called the water main, and that is 100% the responsibility of the city. The part on your property is called the "service line" and that is 100% the home owner's responsibility. So, there actually is no cost sharing. A zero interest loan is a decent offer, but you're still paying to have the service line replaced.

1

iandavid t1_j2v2g3x wrote

The service line is the pipe that extends from the water main to the building. Some of that distance is under the street / sidewalk and is owned by the city, and some of it is under the owner’s property and is owned by them.

When I had my service line replaced, Providence Water calculated the length of the pipe that fell on either side of the property line. They paid the contractor the full amount to do the replacement, and then set up a loan for the amount I owe them for the part that’s on my property. Ergo, we shared the cost of the replacement.

2

GotenRocko t1_j2xdz3x wrote

That's not correct, the service line has a private side and city side. It changes at the curb stop which is in the side walk. When they replace a water main or do what is called a clean and line, they will also replace all the lead lines on the street but only the city side. I believe now though they are replacing both sides when they are doing other water main work.

2

Educational_Leg36 t1_j2u6uh6 wrote

Actually lead pipes are safer than most other options. The lead coating in the pipes keeps contaminants from the pipe itself from leeching into the pipe. Lead is also highly resilent from water errosion. The danger comes from disturbing the pipes either from natural cuases or people physically disturbing the pipes. The lead coating is frail and can easily break off. This exposes the actual pipe and introduces the contaminants you regularly see in tap water.

So single one time testing isn't a good indicator for lead contamination. You would have to test regularly to get a proper glimpse of what's going on with your water.

1

hurricanetruther t1_j2ub5fc wrote

Do you know what contaminant I care about in my drinking water? It's lead.

So not having lead pipes is a good way to avoid lead.

3

Status_Silver_5114 t1_j2uqbrz wrote

Old house but new pipes as is our entire street. Ask your landlord before you spend money on a filter / esp more freaking plastic ones. It’s not hard to figure out where the old pipes are and the city has done a bunch of replacements already over the last 6/7 years. It’s way better than it was and the water quality in the city is actually quite good. Cloudy water might be a more local problem (ie just your house or a bad aerator or something else going on.)

1

GotenRocko t1_j2xemwq wrote

That's not a guarantee, pw prior to the last few years only kept records of the city side pipe material. So the map saying there is a copper service is not a guarantee that the owner side is also copper. The replacement rate of the owner side before flint was very low, so on your street that shows all copper it's likely most are actually still partially lead.

2

Status_Silver_5114 t1_j2xf7fj wrote

I know for a fact our entire street (albeit a small one) has all turned over their lines since we’ve lived here and the city replaced the mains they lead to. I’m just suggesting ask the owner / landlord.

2