Letter warns: Your water pipes may be made of lead

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Over the weekend, some residents across Western New York received a letter in the mail saying their municipality doesn't have a record of what their water line is made of -- and that it could contain lead.

News 4 received complaints from neighbors in Buffalo, the Town of Tonawanda and Kenmore about this letter, which essentially asks people to examine their own service line material to see if there is lead.

The letter, according to the New York State Department of Health, comes after federal drinking water regulations went into effect on Oct. 16. Those regulations require water suppliers country wide to provide updated lead service line inventories.

Some neighbors took to Facebook to voice their concerns about the letter, wondering if it means they have lead poisoning.

The state's DOH responded: "If a customer receives a letter that their service line material is unknown, it does not mean that lead has been detected in their drinking water."

Make sure you read your letter carefully though, as all aren't the same.

According to the City of Buffalo, all of their notices have been delivered, with over 34,000 neighbors having known lead drinking pipes and over 35,000 left with unknown pipe materials.

Neighbors who received "unknown service line letters" are being asked by municipalities to identify and report their service line material.

An instructional video by the DOH says residents can test their pipe themselves; no need to hire a plumber. Click here for the full video.

One technique is scratching the pipe with a screwdriver and testing to see if a magnet sticks.

Some neighbors posted online saying that having to do this is the local government "passing the buck to everyone else.”

The state's DOH responded: "Reporting is the quickest way to determine service line materials on private property, as many customers don't want local or state inspectors in their homes."

New York State recently announced over $100 million to assist communities in finding and replacing lead service lines. A program to remove them has already replaced 3,200 lead service lines in New York.  The state's DOH is asking all residents to follow the instructions on the letter and report any and all problems.