Many Missouri residents and office buildings are hooked up to water with lead pipes. While this may not sound too alarming off the bat, it absolutely is. According to an article from the St. Louis NPR site, Missouri has some of the highest numbers of lead pipes in the United States. In fact, the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that there are at least 330,000 lead pipes funneling tap water making us the sixth-highest of any state in the nation with lead pipes!
This has become a decades old public health issue… especially since the federal government banned lead pipes more than 30 years ago. Many utility companies have yet to replace these old pipes.
The Damage Lead Pipes Cause
Lead is a powerful toxin that has many negative effects on human health even in small quantities.
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It can cause heart and kidney disease,
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lead can cause fetal miscarriages and premature birth,
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and in children, lead exposure can cause damage to the brain, nervous system and lead to behavioral problems.
Whether our pipes are old, or if there are disturbances via chemistry or physically either via construction or natural causes, lead has been leaching into the ground and groundwater since we first started using it.
The History of Lead Pipes
Lead pipes have been used since Ancient Rome and Medieval times. In America, they were first introduced as a public water system in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania around 1754. In fact, the use of lead pipes mostly stopped in the 1950s. That’s right, some of the lead piping that’s under your house may be around seventy years old! To think that these pipes aren’t eroding after 70 years is naive.
Lead poisoning was a common fate for Ancient Romans. In addition to ingesting lead through the water pipes, members of the upper classes ate from lead plates and drank wine from lead-based vessels. The regarded lead as the “father of all metals,” and was used throughout the Roman Empire in products ranging from cosmetics to condiments. It was inexpensive and reliable for the people of the times.
Fast forward to the late 1800s in the U.S., lead was identified as toxic. However, no concerted effort to ban or limit lead plumbing was made until the 1920s.
How Do I Know if I have Lead Pipes for my Water Supply?
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A magnet will not stick to lead pipes.
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If you expose a part of the metal pipe, and scratch off some of the outer corrosion with a flathead screwdriver, and the scraped area is shiny and silver, your service line is lead.
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If you are uncertain, you can always call a plumber do an inspection for you.
Nowadays, specialized plastic such as PVC and PEX are now choice products for water pipes in homes. If you’d like your lead pipes replaced, it’s as easy as calling a plumber! Unfortunately the responsibility does fall on the homeowner to replace these pipes, and though it is important to do so, it can become costly.
Another alternative would be to invest in a water purification system – and not just a store-bought system. Oftentimes store-bought systems aren’t under warranty and the mechanics can be faulty. The best part about purchasing a water purification system from a certified company is
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there is typically an extended warranty,
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professionally trained specialists install the system for you,
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while there is bi-yearly maintenance on these units, Aquasani provides a “set-it-and-forget-it” maintenance program that is hassle-free for you!
If you are interested in receiving a hassle-free quote from us, give us a call today! Springfield are (417) 881-4000 and Lake of the Ozarks area/Central Missouri (573) 692-4009.
About Aquasani Water Purification Systems & Filter Maintenance
Aquasani is an authorized dealer for Rainsoft, WaterLogic, & JavaSmart. Based in Springfield, Mo., and at Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Beach in Missouri, Aquasani services areas in the Ozarks including Osage Beach, Joplin, Camdenton, Aurora and even Jefferson City. In essence, we service Mid-Missouri, Southwest Missouri, and Northwest Arkansas, and have been servicing these areas since 2004. We provide home water softener systems, drinking water filtration systems, whole-house air purification systems, and problem-solving water filtration systems for homes and offices. We also service other water softeners like Culligan, Sterling, Hydroquad, Pro-Series, and Whirlpool to name a few!
Aside from our purification systems, we also sell all-natural cleaning products and household items which are environmentally friendly and low-cost.
We specialize in both air and water filtration and purification for commercial businesses and residential homes. If that isn’t enough, we provide free trials for our water cooler services. If you would like a free estimate, schedule an appointment with us by calling (417) 881-4000 or (573) 692-4009 if you are in the Lake of the Ozarks area.
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