Safe drinking water does not happen by accident. It takes your water utility, your state, and you working together. The Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) is a federal regulation requiring water systems to regularly test tap water for lead and copper. Because these metals typically enter the water through pipes, solder, and fixtures inside homes rather than from the water source itself, testing at the tap in residential homes is the only way to accurately monitor water quality. Your health, and the health of everyone in your community, is exactly what this rule was designed to protect.
Why did I receive a testing kit? Your home was hand-picked as part of a state-approved sample pool. Every selected home represents a unique point along the distribution system, the vast network of pipes that delivers water to your community. Accurate data from across that network depends on each resident doing their part. Your sample cannot come from anywhere else. Only you can collect it from your home’s tap.
Water systems across the country collect samples from dozens to as many as 100 homes every monitoring period, depending on how many people they serve. The LCR sets those requirements deliberately, because a complete and accurate picture of water quality can only come from real homes across the full distribution system. Every returned kit is a contribution to that picture and to the health of your community.
The basics of the Lead and Copper Rule compliance and monitoring, at a glance.
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