Water Service Line/Lead in Drinking Water

What is Lead?

Lead is a metal that, when ingested, is a health hazard that can cause brain and nervous system damage, hearing and speech problems, learning and behavioral problems, and slowed growth and development.  It is especially harmful to infants, children, and pregnant women.

Lead was once used to manufacture pipes and plumbing fixtures. Drinking water service lines made from lead were commonly installed in the early 1900s and prior, and to a much lesser extent as recently as the 1980s.  The use of lead for drinking water service lines and drinking water plumbing is now banned, but some lead pipes and lead-containing plumbing fixtures that have not been updated since the Lead Ban are still in use today.

Sources of Lead in Drinking Water

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) supplies Framingham's drinking water. The MWRA’s water comes from the Quabbin Reservoir, about 40 miles west of Framingham, and from the Wachusett Reservoir, about 15 miles west of Framingham.  Water from these sources does not naturally contain lead, so when lead is found in drinking water, it comes from fabricated materials that come into contact with the drinking water.

The most common sources of lead in drinking water are:

• Lead water services (pipes connecting water mains to buildings)
• Lead plumbing (interior pipes)
• Galvanized steel water pipes (interior and exterior)
• Lead-containing solder (used to connect plumbed pipes)
• Faucets containing lead
• Plumbing fixtures containing lead (for example, older brass fittings may contain lead)

Lead becomes a public health concern when it migrates from pipes and fixtures into drinking water. The MWRA treats Framingham’s drinking water to minimize lead leaching from pipes and plumbing fixtures into the water. This treatment protects customers from lead exposure in drinking water, even when lead pipes or lead-containing plumbing fixtures are present.

Framingham’s Water Division monitors lead in drinking water by regularly sampling and testing for lead at taps throughout the water system.  The lead testing results are available to the public yearly in Framingham’s annual Consumer Confidence Report.

Removing Lead Water Service Lines in Framingham

For over two decades, the Framingham Water Division has made substantial efforts to eliminate lead water services from the City’s drinking water system. Through capital improvement projects, operation and maintenance work, utility inspections, and records reviews, the Water Division has identified lead water services in the system and removed all that have been discovered. Based on our best available records, the City of Framingham’s drinking water system currently contains no known lead water services.

Water Service Line Inventory

Under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), which are effective October 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required all public water systems to compile a drinking water service line inventory and submit it to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) by October 16, 2024.

Through a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, the Framingham Water Division secured the resources of our consultant, Green International Affiliates, Inc. (Green), to assist us in completing a City-wide water service line inventory. Together with Green, we worked hard to compile information from over two centuries of drinking water system history and completed Framingham’s water service line inventory.

To promote transparency about lead in drinking water, the LCRR requires public water systems to identify lead and lead-containing water service lines and make this information available to the public. 

The map on this page depicts the results of Framingham’s water service line inventory based on the best available information.  

Click on the map below to open the Water Service Inventory Map

MAP LEGEND 

LEAD – Water service lines made from lead 

GALVANIZED REQUIRING REPLACEMENT (GRR) – Some water service lines made of galvanized steel

Galvanized steel water services that are currently or once were located downstream of lead water service lines may gather lead deposits on the interior of the galvanized pipe. Water service lines classified as GRR are galvanized water service lines that were preceded by lead water service lines in the past or the records of the past preceding water service line materials are unknown.

NON-LEAD – Water service lines not made from lead and not considered galvanized steel requiring replacement

Water service lines made from copper, plastic, cast iron, or ductile iron and water services with unknown material where other means of excluding lead as a possible service line material were used (for example, buildings constructed after lead was banned from use for drinking water service lines).

LEAD STATUS UNKNOWN – Water service lines for which the City’s records are incomplete, and water service line material has not been confirmed non-lead by other means

Please Note: Information for water service lines associated with private wells is not included in the water service line inventory and does not appear on the map.

Framingham’s Growing and Changing Drinking Water System

The earliest records of Framingham’s drinking water system date back to the 1800s, with some of this infrastructure still in use today.  As Framingham grows and changes, so does its drinking water system.

When changes occur or when we discover new information, we will update the water service line inventory and make this information available to the public. We will continue our commitment to remove lead water service lines from Framingham’s drinking water system by replacing them if any are found.

If you have any questions about your water service line, please email the Water Division or call us at 508-532-6050.

Please see the city's Water Service Line Information Page for information about water service line ownership, new connections, and repairs.