Waltham Seeks Volunteers To Test Water Pipes For Lead, Copper

WALTHAM, MA — Ever wonder how much lead or copper is in your water? The Waltham Water and Sewer Department is looking for volunteers for its annual lead and copper testing.

The city tests 15 homes each year for lead and copper levels and rely on volunteers for the program and the report. Anyone who lives in a single family home with a leaded gooseneck (also known as a pigtail) pipeline to the home. If you are not sure what you have and are interested in volunteering, the Water Department will look it up for you.

"Although we only need 15 homes for testing we are also looking to build an alternate list of homes if needed so the more the better," Water and Sewer Superintendent Gerry Shaughnessey said in a statement.

The department will be accepting volunteers until Feb. 7, for the study. If you're wondering what it entails, it's pretty easy, said Shaughnessey.

His department will supply a wide mouth bottle and all he asks of you is to take the bottle and fill it up with water first thing in the morning, after no one has used any of the water ( before anyone has brushed their teeth, flushed a toilet, or taken a shower). There's a form that goes along with it, asking about where in the house the water came from and what time of morning the sample was drawn. Return it to his office and you're done. The service is free.

The testing will be done during the first full week of September.

The water samples are sent to the MWRA lab in Southborough where they analyze the results, and then sent to Waltham, the DEP and the home-owner. Because you get the results back it can be helpful for those with young children or elderly - people more vulnerable to lead poisoning - living there.

"The samples tells us if [the lead levels are] above the action level," said Shaughnessey. "It lets the homeowner know your lead is high in the house for whatever reason, because of the lead gooseneck, or the lead solder back in the day. If it's high, we'll go out and we'll remove that lead gooseneck pipe and replace it with copper."

The Water and Sewer department last year replaced 150 water and sewer lines in 2019 because of leaks in the street, and perhaps two or three gooseneck pipes last year after testing showed higher lead levels.

Having a list of people interested in volunteering this year or even next is helpful, said Shaughnessey so his department doesn't have to go knocking on doors to ask folks. There are about 8,000 single family homes with the lead gooseneck piping in the city, he said. Those, like homes built before 1987 that used lead solder, don't all need to be replaced, just monitored, he said.

"The tests are good because we purchase our water from MWRA and it gives us insight," Shaughnessey told Patch. "It's highly important. It's a good tool to make sure the homeowners are getting the water they deserve and it helps keep the public safe. "

If you are interested in volunteering call the Water & Sewer Superintendent at 781-314-3836.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).