Pipes & Heat in Old Cambridge

A reading site on water and heating in older Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire homes. Not a plumbing or heating firm.

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Lead in tap water: what to do this week

A lead in tap water test comes from your water company, which will sample the kitchen tap on request and give written advice. Until then, run off standing water before drinking or cooking.

Most useful for: Pre-1970 homes, tenants, and households with a baby or pregnancy

Compiled from the sources at the end. Updated .

Close view of copper water pipes with a brass isolating valve and small green lever handle.
Copper pipes with a brass isolating valve and small lever handle.

You do not need to know what your pipes are before asking. If the house is older, or the pipe at the stop tap looks like lead, these steps are worth doing now. Pregnant people, babies and children are most at risk, so move faster if that applies to your home.

A plan for this week

  1. Find the company on your water bill. Cambridge Water and Anglian Water both serve this region, and the bill settles which is yours.
  2. Ask for a lead test at the kitchen tap and for written advice. Companies do this on request. Ask whether there is a charge and when the result will come.
  3. Each time the water has stood, such as first thing in the morning, run the kitchen tap before using it for drinking or cooking. The DWI says a washing-up bowl's worth usually does it, and longer on a long service pipe. You can feel for the drop in temperature.
  4. If you rent, tell the landlord you have asked, because any replacement of pipes in the home falls to the owner.

What the result means

The result to compare with is the standard of 10 micrograms per litre at the consumer's tap. WaterSafe gives the same figure. A single test is a snapshot, as the DWI says lead tends to rise with longer standing, warmer water in summer and autumn, and a pipe in poor condition.

Running the tap is a stopgap. The DWI calls it short-term and points to replacement as the answer, which starts with who owns which length. After any work on a lead pipe, flush for at least 10 minutes.

Babies and bottle feeds

If you are preparing feeds in a house that may have lead, raise it with the company when you ask for the test and do not wait for a repair date. Babies, including before birth, are in the group the DWI names as most at risk.

If the company does not resolve the matter, CCW takes up unresolved complaints and its advice is free.

Sources, read 4 November 2026: Drinking Water Inspectorate: lead in drinking water; Drinking Water Inspectorate: standards and regulations; WaterSafe: who replaces lead pipes; CCW: complaints it can help with.