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Lead concentrations measured in tap water after a change in corrosion control

Repeated sampling at a single residence reported elevated tap-water lead concentrations following a source-water change made without corrosion-control treatment, and a decline after treatment was restored.

How to read this

This library reports what studies found. An entry describes a study's design, its findings in its own terms, and its limits. Nothing here is a claim about what a Sage Co. home does, delivers, or prevents.

Last reviewed August 30, 2026.

What they studied

  • A longitudinal sampling investigation at one house in Flint, Michigan, with sequential and repeated tap sampling over roughly two years.
  • Sampling spanned the period before, during, and after the municipal source-water change that was made without orthophosphate corrosion-control treatment.
  • Analyses characterized lead concentrations by sample sequence to distinguish plumbing sources.

What they found

  • The authors reported very high lead concentrations in tap samples during the period without corrosion-control treatment, including samples far above regulatory action levels.
  • They reported that concentrations declined after the source water was switched back and corrosion-control treatment was reinstated, though not immediately.
  • Sequential sampling was reported to attribute much of the lead to the service line and premise plumbing rather than the distribution main alone.

What this study does not establish

  • A single residence in one city; the magnitudes reported are specific to that plumbing and that water chemistry.
  • Findings concern water chemistry and plumbing materials, not occupant health outcomes measured in this study.
  • Results do not transfer to any other water system without local sampling.
  • This entry reports the study. It is not a statement about any building Sage Co. designs or constructs.

Source

Pieper KJ, Tang M, Edwards MA (2017). Flint water crisis caused by interrupted corrosion control: investigating 'ground zero' home. Environmental Science & Technology 51(4):2007–2014.

leadcorrosion controlpremise plumbingsampling

Elsewhere under Water Quality

This is the only published entry under this domain.

Water Quality domain page