However, if no scale has been built-up on the pipe interior the water may react by dissolving the materials used to construct the water system. Corrosive water in contact with such plumbing materials can result in elevated lead and copper levels. Ideally water should be in equilibrium or a state that is neither scale-forming nor corrosive. The Collier County Water Department uses its various treatment applications and monitoring programs to provide its customers with drinking water which is as close as possible to equilibrium. Phosphate monitoring A blend of phosphate is added to the drinking water as a corrosion inhibitor.
Phosphates can prevent scale from forming and depositing on the inside of water lines.
The phosphate levels in the drinking water are monitored by laboratory personnel and reported to the Department of Environmental Protection as part of our overall corrosion control program. In this program we ask customers of Collier County to participate in collecting samples for lead and copper. Testing the water at the customers tap allows us to determine the long term effectiveness of our corrosion program. The drinking water our customers receive is free of both lead and copper. However, the EPA believes that the most likely source of lead and copper in your drinking water could be the pipe, solder, or fixtures in your own home's plumbing.