Submitted by tryhardwhore t3_102ktj3 in providence
I’ve lived here almost two years and have been drinking the tap water. I left for the holidays and came back and my water taste different and it’s cloudy. Friends are shocked when I told them I drink from the tap… do you guys? Do I need a britta? Should I call my apartment management and complain?
The elevated lead levels is because they used to only replace the city side of the water pipe, leaving it up to the owner to choose to replace the other side or not. That's why that map is unfortunately very inaccurate. You could have a city side copper service but the owner side is still lead, before flint the percentage of owners that opted to replace thier side was very low. I believe now they do replace both sides but not 100% on that. But if both sides are replaced then the elevated levels is not something that will happen.
Especially if you have children or have children that visit your home it's best to get an actual water test to determine if you have lead pipes regardless of the age of your home and not rely on that map, unless the whole area is newer like parts of west Cranston, since the developments were built after the use of lead lines were discontinued. I don't think the federal regulations reflect the newer science, but there is no longer a safe allowable level of lead for kids, it needs to be zero.
I was under the impression that it displays owner side lead? Like, I know they replaced the lead lines on my street, but we still have lead in my house, and that’s reflected on this map.
you are right, but it's just their guess for most of the services as they did not track the owner-side material until a few years ago. The way they are doing it is if the whole street was replaced during a water main replacement or relining then it's not likely the other side is copper, if the whole street was not replaced then it's likely the owner asked for a service line replacement and in that case, the owner side would be copper if the public side is copper since it's required that the owner replace their side before PW replaces the public side, although there are rare instances where it didn't happen. So if you want to be certain get a test done.
If your water is continuously dirty when it hadnt been before, you should call your landlord/prop manager. Also, depending on the age and upkeep of your building there is a slight chance there are legitimate lead hazards, like an unreplaced lead water main from house to the street.
The water here is very clean and safe to drink, but many (most?) of the pipes are wicked old and can cause an unpleasant taste in your tap water. Our fridge crapped the bed last year, so we got a new one that has a filter built in. it’s been a very noticeable difference, but we never got sick from drinking the tap water and did so every day for almost a year.
I use a Brita but it's mostly out of a preference for colder glasses of water.
Same with me.
PUR filters lead, which is common in many older homes.
All NSF 53 filters will filter lead. Doesn’t matter the brand as long as it has that label on it.
Source: Providence Water told me this when I learned I had a lead service line. I’ve since gotten it replaced and lead levels now test at zero.
Our water source is some of the best in the country, Scituate reservoir. Problem is that providence is one of the oldest cities in the union so we also have alot of old pipes even though they still function. Now include all those deposits from old pipes with the added govt mandated chlorine you get nasty tap water.
Best bet is to get a filter. Either a jug or a filter directly on the faucet. You could also install a more permanent setup under the faucet.
If you were gone over the holidays, the water in the pipes might have frozen slightly if no one else was using water in the building/home. Run the tap for a bit continuously (a minute or two) and it should clear back up. Do so before alerting your landlord in case this fixes it. The same thing happened at my workplace over the long Christmas weekend. :)
I drink the tap water filtered with a Brita long lasting filter (which filters lead) in Cranston which is part of Providence water. I would drink it without a filter too, but my spouse likes the filter...just change it regularly per the instructions so it stays fresh.
You really shouldn't because of lead. Lead in pipes is everywhere in Providence as our housing stock is so old.
You can have your water tested if you're not sure, but if you have an old house/pipes then assume you have lead and filter it accordingly.
You don’t have to assume, you can just look at the map: https://engineering.provwater.com/gis/servicelinesearch
That's only for the city side though. Before flint the percentage of owners that had their private side of the service replaced was very low. So better to get it tested to know for sure.
Wow, cool tool they put together, incorporating the best guess for private lines. (Is accurate for the 6 houses I know, all lead)
Seconded. Replacing a lead service line is an expensive job, so unless your house has been extensively updated (or is newer), you likely have at least a lead service line, if not other lead pipes in your house. If you have access to your service line where you live (e.g. you have access to the basement), it's simple to check if that pipe is lead. You can get a free lead water testing kit from Providence Water if you'd like to test it. For what it's worth, a Providence Water employee told me that the city water is safe to drink if you don't have lead pipes in your house.
Replacing a lead service line can be expensive, but Providence Water will share the cost (i.e. they’ll cover the cost of the part in the street up to the property line) and they offer a 10-year, zero-interest loan for the part on your property.
The wait list is long but it’s worth doing. Info here: https://provwater.com/water_quality/lead-center/wslinformation
This is free in some neighborhoods! Mine was replaced last fall at no cost to me.
The street part is called the water main, and that is 100% the responsibility of the city. The part on your property is called the "service line" and that is 100% the home owner's responsibility. So, there actually is no cost sharing. A zero interest loan is a decent offer, but you're still paying to have the service line replaced.
The service line is the pipe that extends from the water main to the building. Some of that distance is under the street / sidewalk and is owned by the city, and some of it is under the owner’s property and is owned by them.
When I had my service line replaced, Providence Water calculated the length of the pipe that fell on either side of the property line. They paid the contractor the full amount to do the replacement, and then set up a loan for the amount I owe them for the part that’s on my property. Ergo, we shared the cost of the replacement.
That's not correct, the service line has a private side and city side. It changes at the curb stop which is in the side walk. When they replace a water main or do what is called a clean and line, they will also replace all the lead lines on the street but only the city side. I believe now though they are replacing both sides when they are doing other water main work.
Thanks for the education
Actually lead pipes are safer than most other options. The lead coating in the pipes keeps contaminants from the pipe itself from leeching into the pipe. Lead is also highly resilent from water errosion. The danger comes from disturbing the pipes either from natural cuases or people physically disturbing the pipes. The lead coating is frail and can easily break off. This exposes the actual pipe and introduces the contaminants you regularly see in tap water.
So single one time testing isn't a good indicator for lead contamination. You would have to test regularly to get a proper glimpse of what's going on with your water.
Do you know what contaminant I care about in my drinking water? It's lead.
So not having lead pipes is a good way to avoid lead.
Old house but new pipes as is our entire street. Ask your landlord before you spend money on a filter / esp more freaking plastic ones. It’s not hard to figure out where the old pipes are and the city has done a bunch of replacements already over the last 6/7 years. It’s way better than it was and the water quality in the city is actually quite good. Cloudy water might be a more local problem (ie just your house or a bad aerator or something else going on.)
That's not a guarantee, pw prior to the last few years only kept records of the city side pipe material. So the map saying there is a copper service is not a guarantee that the owner side is also copper. The replacement rate of the owner side before flint was very low, so on your street that shows all copper it's likely most are actually still partially lead.
I know for a fact our entire street (albeit a small one) has all turned over their lines since we’ve lived here and the city replaced the mains they lead to. I’m just suggesting ask the owner / landlord.
I drink the tap water. It's fine.
I do. I also have a brita but for the most part I drink from the faucet. Tastes fine and haven’t had any issues.
I drink tap water but filter it through a berkey
We're lucky to have some of the best water in the country. It is noticeably better than the shit that came out of the taps back from where I was from in Florida.
The only time the tap is bad for us here is when a fire hydrant or major pipe work in the streets happen but it is noticeably reddish brown and easy to flush out.
If this is your first time being away for an extended period of time, it’s always a good idea to let the faucet run for a few seconds before consuming what comes out.
Sometimes the water can become stagnant and some leeching from the pipes can occur.
As for the quality of Providence Water, we have without a doubt some of the best water in this country, second only to Portland, ME on a large system.
So you’re perfectly safe drinking it.
I use filtered water from my fridge and I change the filter on the regular.
In general, the tap water should be fine. If you're noticing a change in taste and cloudiness, that may be a short term problem. I don't have a lead service line, and I will often use the tap water for cooking or drinking. I find the Chlorine a bit heavy handed, so use a Brita Stream filter to remove the excess Chlorine.
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I do not drink tap water. For some of the contaminants in providence water britta is not enough. If it is in your budget Big Berkey is the most reasonable filter for providence tap water. However, britta is meant to filter lead, arsenic maybe and other metals so it is better than nothing.
i don't think it'll make you sick or anything but i think it's gross and use a brita
No, never, forget about it. I buy water from Shaw's.
Kelruss t1_j2uggmu wrote
You can view the lead service location map here, which will (likely) show whether or not your residence has a lead service line. If you do, you should consider investing in a water filter that is rated to filter out lead or possibly think about delivery (if you can afford it/for peace of mind).
That said; lead in the pipes is supposed to be fairly inert if they're not being disturbed (Providence Water warns customers that replacing the lead service line, which is indeed an expense, can cause elevated lead levels in water for months; though, after of course, no more risk of lead), and relatively safe to drink.
Pipe issues aside, the water itself is fine and you shouldn't feel worried about drinking it.
However, if you're experiencing cloudy water with a different taste, you should talk to your apartment management, as there could be something else going on in your apartment's/building's pipes.