Historically these surveys have been directed to assess the city's past performance. While addressing some of these same issues, the 1999 survey also asked water users what future utility directions they would prefer. This site is still under development and review. The 1992 Lead and Copper Rule required monitoring of tap water and specified limits for these minerals. If more than 10 percent of the total taps monitored by a utility exceeds 15 ppb for lead, then the action level has been exceeded and a number of lead mitigation and public notification requirements are triggered.
Tap water leaving Boulder's treatment facilities contains very little lead.
Any lead that is found in Boulder's tap water is from lead solder found in home plumbing. This solder was banned in 1987. During the past two years none of the sites have exceeded the 15 ppb level. Lead in the tap water is not a problem for most homes. Metals from home plumbing such as lead, can be reduced significantly by running the cold water for at least two minutes before drawing water for drinking or cooking.