Replacing lead pipes

Drinking water from lead pipes is bad for your health. Especially for children up to age 7 and for pregnant women. If young children ingest too much lead, it can lead to permanent damage. Lead water pipes are found in properties built before 1960. In rare cases, we find lead in drinking water in homes built after 1960. Therefore, check yourself if you see lead pipes in your home.

Recognizing a lead water pipe

Check your water meter, if you have one. You can find it in your meter box or near the central heating boiler, but sometimes in the toilet, bathroom, kitchen or the hatch under your front or back door.

Here's how to recognize a lead water pipe

  • To the irregular shape.
  • To the color. Lead pipes are usually dull and gray in color. If you go over it with sandpaper, the pipe turns silver. Copper pipes are often green. They turn yellow or red when you go over them with sandpaper.
  • To the sound. A lead pipe makes a dull sound when you tap it.

This video shows you how to recognize lead pipes.

If you are not sure if there are lead water pipes in your home you can have a water measurement done through a certified company. You can also ask your landlord. For water sampling, RIVM has created a national advisory.

Water filters

It is unclear whether water filters filter lead from drinking water. Moreover, a water filter is always a temporary solution. 

You rent a property from a housing association

Contact your housing authority if you have questions about lead water pipes. 

You are renting from a private landlord: check out the roadmap

  1. Check with your landlord or the Land Registry to see if your property was built before 1960.
  2. Check for lead water pipes in your home.
  3. If you are not sure, ask the landlord to do a water test.
  4. Is the concentration of lead too high? Switch immediately to bottled water.
  5. Ask your landlord in writing or by e-mail to replace the lead pipes.

If your landlord does not cooperate

Have you asked your landlord to perform a water inspection and replace lead pipes? If the landlord fails to do so, the Rent Commission can impose a rent reduction until the lead pipes are replaced. You can also go to court to force repair or a rent reduction. You can also ask for an authorization to do it yourself at the landlord's expense. 

If the pipes are replaced

  1. Flush new pipes thoroughly for the first 3 months before use. For new water pipes, we recommend that you first flush the tap water for 2 minutes if the pipe has not been used for about 8 hours. We recommend that you do another water test (or have one done) to make sure there is no lead left in the pipes.

  2. Repeat these steps if the lead concentration is still too high.

You are owner-occupier or owner-lessor of the property: view the roadmap

  1. Have a certified company do a water test in the apartments or commercial spaces.
  2. Is the concentration of lead too high? Inform your tenants and advise them to switch to bottled water immediately.
  3. If you own the property and you are not in a CoE, you must replace the lead water pipes yourself.
  4. Are you an owner-occupant in a CoE? Switch to bottled water immediately and inform the CoE.
  5. Commission a contractor for a sight inspection to see where the lead water pipes are.
  6. Instruct a contractor to replace the lead water pipes.

If the pipes are replaced

  1. Flush new pipes thoroughly for the first 3 months before use. For new water pipes, we recommend that you first flush the tap water for 2 minutes if the pipe has not been used for about 8 hours. We recommend that you do another water test (or have one done) to make sure there is no lead left in the pipes.
  2. Repeat these steps if the lead concentration is still too high.

Do you have questions about health and lead water pipes?

Questions about replacing lead pipes

Grounding and water pipes, what about it?

An electrical installation needs grounding to work safely. A good grounding prevents devices from still being energized in the event of a short circuit. In the past, lead water pipes were often used for this purpose. A lead water pipe conducts electrical current very easily, but a plastic water pipe does not. Therefore, when replacing the lead water pipe, the contractor should also check the grounding of the electrical system.

I am in an owner's association. How do I Health for the CoE to replace the lead pipes?

Report the common lead pipes to the board of the Owner's Association (CoE). The Owner's Association may decide to have a contractor replace the communal pipes.

Where can I find a contractor to replace lead pipes?

It is important that the contractor/plumber is licensed. A licensed plumber is a member of a trade association. Lists of licensed and certified installers can be found in the Construction and Installation Industry Quality Registry QBISnl at www.qbisnl.nl.

Municipal real estate, schools and daycare centers

Municipal property

Municipal buildings do not have lead pipes. 

Schools

There are no schools in the municipality of Nuenen with lead pipes. 

Nurseries and before- and after-school care private

The municipality has written to all users/occupants of pre-1960 buildings. Private owners are responsible for any replacements.