Frequently Asked Questions

Since having lead in your drinking water is directly related to when your home was built, the service line and interior plumbing materials, it’s important to understand:

• What sources of lead are in your home
• How lead gets into drinking water
• How you can reduce your exposure to lead in drinking water    

We encourage you to schedule a free in-home assessment to determine what type of service line you have. Visit CheckYourPipesLivonia.org to schedule a 30-minute appointment or call (734) 466-2019. You may also visit EGLE’s List of Certified Laboratories for information on water testing.

Providing safe, clean drinking water to our customers is of primary importance to the City of Livonia.  For more information, please visit our Water Quality webpage.

Lead enters a home’s drinking water when it comes in contact with lead service lines or internal plumbing made with lead. How does lead get into your home tap water?

The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain. Therefore, if your water has not been used for several hours, run the water before using it for drinking or cooking. This flushes lead-containing water from the pipes.

Additional flushing may be required for homes that have been vacant or have a longer service line.

• If you do not have a lead service line, run the water for 30 seconds to two minutes, or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature. 
• If you do have a lead service line, run the water for at least five minutes 
    to flush water from your home of building’s plumbing and the lead service line.

In addition to flushing, consider cleaning your faucet aerator to remove trapped debris.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recommends that Michigan households use a certified lead-reducing drinking water filter if your home has or if you are uncertain if it has a source of lead, such as one of the following: 

• Lead or galvanized plumbing. 
• A lead service line carrying water from the street to their residence. 
• Copper plumbing with lead solder before 1988 (EGLE recommendation). 
• Old faucets and fittings that were sold before 2014. 
• Use the filter until you are able to remove sources of household lead plumbing, such as: 
  • Replace pre-2014 faucets
  • Get a lead inspection and replace needed plumbing.

Look for filters that are tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead reduction and NSF/ANSI Standard 42 for particulate reduction (Class I). For filters to work properly, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

You can purchase one at any hardware or big box store (Meijer, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc).  Look for filters that are tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead reduction. If this information is not on the box, look at the information inside the box (fine print on a folded piece of paper). Learn more about choosing a lead water filter. For filters to work properly, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installation and maintenance.

Do not boil your water as boiling will not reduce the amount of lead in water. Do not use hot water for drinking, preparing food, or cooking, or preparing baby formula.

Keep in mind that drinking water is not the only potential source of lead exposure. Because lead can be found in air, soil, and paint, contact the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services at (313) 224-0810 or your family doctor or pediatrician, for more information.

After assessing 15,563 homes in Livonia, we have identified 67 homes with a lead service line. Help us identify the remaining 23,428 lines by scheduling a free in-home assessment.

We’re taking a proactive approach to assess our water quality and current treatment processes, as well as, notify and educate our customers.

We encourage all of our water customers to schedule an appointment for a Livonia Department of Public Works representative to assess the service line in their home. 

 Visit CheckYourPipesLivonia.org to schedule a free in-home assessment or call (734) 466-2019.

We will be collecting more samples and will be actively looking for and replacing lead service lines. Homes with lead service lines have an increased risk for higher lead levels.

Flushing stagnant water from your plumbing before getting a drink is always a good idea. This is especially important when you’ve been gone for a weekend or taken a vacation and your water hasn’t been used.  

The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain. Run the water before using it for drinking or cooking. This flushes lead-containing water from the pipes.  

Additional flushing may be required for homes that have been vacant.

• If you do not have a lead service line, run the water for 30 seconds to two minutes, or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature. 
• If you do have a lead service line, run the water for at least five minutes to flush water from your home of building’s plumbing and the lead service line.  

A service line is a pipe that connects Livonia's water main under the street to your home. This connection delivers water to your home. In older homes (built before the 1950s) this connection can be a lead pipe. If you have a service line that is made of lead, you have an increased risk of having elevated levels of lead in your drinking water.  

If you do not know what your service line material is and are interested in having your home inspected, please visit CheckYourPipesLivonia.org to schedule a free in-home assessment or call (734) 466-2019.

You can also take the City of Livonia Water Service Line Material Survey to determine what type of service line pipe you have at your home. 

Lead can enter drinking water when it comes into contact with pipes, solder, plumbing, fittings and fixtures that contain lead.  

Plumbing products such as service lines, pipes and fixtures can contain lead. Solder (the metal used to join two pieces of pipe) can have lead. Because of legislation in 1988, 1996, and 2014, newer materials contain less lead than older plumbing materials and fixtures. This infographic, developed by the EPA, demonstrates where sources of lead could be in your home. 

A fixture is another name for a faucet, like the faucet in a kitchen or bathroom. Older fixtures can contain lead. Fixtures purchased in 2014 or newer can only have 0.25% lead. Older fixtures can contain up to 8% or more lead based on their age. The EPA has a graphic that explain other sources of lead in a home. 

Yes. Please visit Mi Lead Safe or contact the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services at (313) 224-0810 for more information about other sources of lead such as paint and soil.  

Running you water to flush out lead does not mean you need to let the water run down the drain. You can use your water by doing laundry, washing dishes, watering house plants, or using the shower or toilet to flush the lead-containing water from your service line. 

Lead can cause serious health and development problems.  The greatest risk of lead exposure is to children and pregnant women. Visit Mi Lead Safe for more information or contact the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services at (313) 224-0810 or your family doctor for more information. 

You should speak with your family doctor about blood lead level testing if you believe your child has been exposed to lead or is at risk of lead exposure. You can also contact Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services at (313) 224-0810 to see if there are any testing locations nearby.

In Michigan, a blood lead level (BLL) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or higher is considered elevated. A blood lead test is the only way to determine a blood lead level. Talk with your doctor or contact Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services at (313) 224-0810 about getting a lead test for you or your child.

Any city water system that has exceeded the 15ppb federal action level for lead has been contacted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and is working with the department to take necessary actions to meet Lead and Copper Rule requirements. If you are interested in more information, please visit the EGLE’s webpages on drinking water and the Lead and Copper Rule.

An Action Level is a concentration of lead or copper that is not a health based standard, but a value that triggers investigative sampling of water quality (lead, copper, pH, alkalinity, calcium, conductivity, temperature, chloride and sulfate), educational outreach to customers, and an assessment of treatment options. A water supply exceeds the Action Level if the 90^th percentile of the samples exceeds 15 parts per billion (ppb).

If more than 10% of the water samples collected test above the allowable limit of 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead, then the 90^th percentile is also above 15 ppb. A water system that exceeds the Action Level for lead must conduct investigative sampling of water quality, educational outreach to customers, and an assessment of treatment options.

Yes, but many samples have special requirements like hold times, thermal preservation and specific sampling methods. Please check the State of Michigan's list of certified labs, contact the lab directly at (517) 335-8184 or visit the EGLE Labs webpage for more information.

Food establishments such as a store, restaurant, bar, or food manufacturer can visit the Food Establishment Recommendations for Lead in Drinking Water for specific information.

The Livonia Public Schools district has been involved in lead testing for a long while now. In consultation with an environmental company, they have been testing and installing additional filtration systems at the water sources throughout the district, because that is a good and sound practice. Those water bottle fillers have specialized filters, as do the regular drinking fountains. The district is also working on increasing the number of water bottle fillers within each school, so that we have a ratio that is approximately one filler station per 100 occupants in any given school.

Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) will be increasing the amount of ortho-phosphate that is put into the water at each of its five water treatment plants in October 2024. Although there is no lead in the water provided by GLWA and GLWA has no lead in its transmission mains, this additional corrosion control treatment will provide increased protections in our member partners’ local systems. Ortho-phosphate acts as a “water bodyguard,” forming a protective layer within pipes to prevent metals such as lead, iron, and copper from dissolving in the water.