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We are committed to providing a safe source of drinking water for our residents.

The City of New London, Connecticut treats, tests, and distributes high quality drinking water to you and the community. Water provided by the City of New London is lead-free when it leaves our treatment plant to assure continued protection of our communities, the City is proactively advancing a program to identify and replace any remaining lead water service lines within the City.​

Homeowner's Guide

Learn how to identify potential sources of lead in your home

Test your water service line

Learn how to perform an at-home test your water service line for lead and send us a report​

FAQ

We are ready to work with you to answer your questions

Understanding Lead

Lead is a naturally occurring material used in many residential and industrialproducts, meaning we may be exposed to it at work or at home. Historically, lead was considered a good material for plumbing because it easily forms into different shapes and resists leaks.

Exposure to Lead Can Affect Your Health​

Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have​ decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead​ to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing​ learning and behavior problems. The children of women who​ are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have​ increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can​ have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure,​ kidney or nervous system problems.​

Homeowner's Guide

A Guide to Managing Lead in Your Drinking Water

The City of New London takes the issue of lead in drinking water very seriously, and as a result, we offer this fact sheet to help you identify potential sources of lead in your home, learn how lead can affect your health and, most importantly, how to maintain high quality water and reduce exposure to lead.​

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

We are ready to work with you to answer your questions about water quality and help reduce lead exposure.

A service line is a pipe that connects the water main in the street to your household plumbing. In the City of New London, it is owned by the property owner from the curb box valve outside into the home. However, New London is responsible for maintaining the portion in public space—the portion of pipe from the water main in the street to the curb box valve.

Lead is a naturally occurring material used in many residential and industrial products, meaning we may be exposed to it at work or at home. Historically, lead was considered a good material for plumbing because it easily forms into different shapes and resists leaks. For this reason, many homes may have lead-containing service lines to the house, pipes in the house, and kitchen and bath fixtures. Lead may also be found in paint and other products, especially in older homes
If you have a lead service pipe, you are at risk of lead exposure. Lead can be released into the drinking water as the water comes in contact with pipes that contain lead. Elevated lead levels, if present, can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. As part of this program, lead service pipes will be replaced with copper pipes

The City has created an initial inventory of lead service lines based on construction records, but those records are not perfect. To improve our inventory the City of New London will continue to perform In-Home Verification testing (Swab Testing) and Potholing (Test Pits).

  • A physical inspection of the property’s service line to determine existing material. The service line will be “swabbed” and the results will be immediately known (presence of lead or not).
  • Access to the service line pipe inside the home (often in the basement) will be required for a swab test. Thespace must be clear and the pipe must be exposed to complete the test.
  • Homeowners will be notified ahead of time if their home was selected and provided the option to agree or decline the inspection.
  • Potholing or digging test pits is the process of digging to expose underground utilities for inspection.
  • This work takes place at the property line and helps the City determine the material of the drinking water service lines on both the utility and customer side of the line.
If your street is undergoing or scheduled for a capital improvement project—like a water main replacement or rehabilitation—service pipe replacement will occur in conjunction with that project. Otherwise, lead service lines are anticipated to progressively be replaced over the course of this multi-year program. Several factors will drive when and where service lines are replaced.

The City of New London is prioritizing communities who are most vulnerable and at-risk from lead exposure, particularly infants and children. Areas with large numbers of facilities that serve these populations, such as schools and daycares, will be prioritized. Other determining factors are areas with the highest concentration of lead service lines, and underserved neighborhoods in addition to coordination with other construction activity.
Replacing the service line may occur in conjunction with another capital improvement project on your street and may involve digging a trench from the street. The new copper service line will enter through the floor or the wall and connect to your existing plumbing at the first water shut-off valve. Typically, water will be unavailable for up to 8 hours during construction. At the end of the day, any holes from construction in and the area around the new water service entry will be resealed.
A lead service line replacement is usually completed in one day. Construction crews will return at a later date to restore concrete sidewalks and the road.
Lead service line replacements are free of cost to customers.
  • Test your water if you are concerned about lead in your drinking water. Tests should be performed by a state certified The cost for the test is typically between $10 and $50. A list of certified laboratories can be found at the following link:
    https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Departments-and-Agencies/DPH/dph/environmental_health/environmental_laboratories/pdf/Instate-Aproved-Laboratories-Certified-to-Test-Drinking-Water.pdf
  • Inspect your in-home water treatment devices and water softeners; they may increase lead levels in your Consult the manufacturer about how the device may affect your drinking water or plumbing. Avoid drinking softened water, as metals from your pipes are more likely to dissolve into soft water than in hard water.
  • Filter tap water for drinking and cooking until all sources of lead are removed. This is especially important for pregnant or nursing women and children under age six. Select a filter certified to remove lead. The filter must meet National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 53 for lead removal. Learn more about filters here:
    https://info.nsf.org/Certified/dwtu/listings_leadreduction.asp.
  • Use cold tap water for drinking and preparing food. Hot water is more likely to contain lead than cold water.
  • Flush your tap for at least 5 minutes before drinking or cooking if the water in the faucet has gone unused for more than 6 hours. However, the amount of time to run the water will depend on whether your home has a lead service line or not, and the length of the lead service line. If you have a known lead service line and your house is set far back from the curb, you may need to flush for longer than 5 minutes. After flushing, use the water for cooking or drinking, or save it for later use by filling pitchers. To conserve water, save the water from flushing the tap for watering plants or doing dishes.
  • Install lead-free faucets and fixtures that are certified to contain no lead. Look for lead certification marks indicating the new product is lead free, and then replace old faucets and fixtures. Visit epa.gov and search for lead free certification for more information.
  • Lead and other metals can dissolve in water when it sits in pipes for a few hours. Regularly remove and clean faucet aerators every three months because sediment and lead particles can collect in the screen.
While in some case the lead service line may be the only source of lead in the water, in other cases there will still be lead in a home’s interior plumbing. In these cases, replacement the lead service line will reduce the amount of lead in your water but not eliminate it. If you still have lead above 2 parts per billion after the service line replacement, you should continue to run or flush water whenever it has not been used for more than 6 hours.
In households that have or previously had a lead service pipe, lead can accumulate on the inside of some pipes. Install lead-free plumbing fixtures, including faucets, valves and fittings. If replacing service pipes or household plumbing is not a practical option, customers are encouraged to use a water filter certified for lead removal. Learn more about filters here:
https://info.nsf.org/Certified/dwtu/listings_leadreduction.asp.

More information and resources

The City of New London is committed to providing a safe source of drinking water to its residents, and our staff work hard to keep that commitment. Because property owners in New London own a portion of their water service lines, there is a shared responsibility to manage lead exposure. We are ready to work with you to answer your questions about water quality and help reduce lead exposure.

The City offers the following additional state and national resources for you to learn more about lead and drinking water safety:

Opt-in to the LSLR Program

Download & sign the water agreement

The team

Amy Anderson

Program Manager

Kate Edwards

Public Outreach Coordinator

Joseph Lanzafame

Director of Public Utilities