Did you know that lead pipes and solder are still a problem within city municipal water systems and in some older buildings? Up until 1986, lead was still allowed to be used in plumbing systems. The passage of The Safe Water Drinking Act prohibited the use of lead pipes, solder and fixtures in plumbing systems after 1986, according to the EPA, but if you have an older building that was built before 1986 and hasn’t undergone any significant plumbing system renovations, you may still have lead pipes and/or lead solder in your facility’s potable water pipes that could lead to contaminated water.
You’ve probably heard that water is the ultimate solvent. Given enough time and enough flow, water has the potential to dissolve anything, including rock. When it comes to the metal plumbing pipes in your building, you should keep watch for corrosive water, which is water that has a pH of less than 7. Water with a pH value of less than 7 is typically considered corrosive or acidic water.
During the course of operating a residential building in Chicago as a property manager, you may be faced with the question of who is responsibility for ensuring the water you and your residents drink is safe. The short answer is that it is your responsibility to provide your residents with clean, safe, contaminant-free drinking water and to ensure the water stays clean and readily available.
Today is the first ever World Trenchless Day, and our professional pipe lining installation experts and
staff members would like you to help us celebrate it by learning about trenchless technology and how it can help you provide your residents with clean water.
Are your apartment, condo or co-op residents lead - compromised via the water pipes leading to your building or inside your building? Lead is a toxic metal that is especially dangerous for children and pregnant women, and while drinking a single glass of water contaminated with lead particles above the EPA’s recommended standards of 1.3ppm won’t cause any permanent health problems, chronic exposure can result in some serious, life-long, health consequences.
Because of recent awareness of lead pipes and lead water contamination across the United States, especially in Flint, Michigan, it’s no surprise that the EPA is revising the rules for lead and copper. As a building manager in Chicago, you’ll want to be up-to-date on the changes so that you can make the best decision when it comes to ensuring the safety of your resident’s drinking water.