REDUCTION OF LEAD IN DRINKING WATER ACT

Public Law 111-380

In 2011, the United States Congress changed the way plumbing and irrigation supplies are manufactured and sold in the United States by significantly reducing the legal amount of lead in these parts.

The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act enacted on January 4, 2011 by the United States Congress, is the amended part of Section 1417 in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The purpose of the SDWA is to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. It places focus on all water intended or potentially intended for drinking use. Section 1417 states that “no person may use any pipe, any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture, any solder, or any flux, in the installation or repair of any public water system or plumbing in residential or nonresidential facility providing water for human consumption that is not lead free.” It goes further to state that it is “unlawful for any person to introduce into commerce any pipe, or any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free after August 6, 1998.

The SDWA law has since been amended and effective January 4, 2014, The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act now clarifies exemptions in the SDWA by indicating that the following products shall not apply to prohibitions:

“… pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, or fixtures, including backflow preventers, that are used exclusively for non-potable services such as manufacturing, industrial processing, irrigation, outdoor watering, or any other uses where the water is not anticipated to be used for human consumption; or” … “water distribution main gate valves that are 2 inches in diameter or larger.”

As stated in the law, the definition of lead-free is as follows:

• Not containing more than 0.2 percent lead when used with respect to solder and flux
• Not more than a weighted average of 0.25 percent lead when used with respect to the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures

Aqualine offers a variety of lead-free valves and fittings in accordance with SDWA law. All lead-free products are indicated with the image to the right on our website and in our current list price book.

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