Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act
PL 111-380 (S.3874), enacted 01/04/2011

124 STAT. 4131 
PUBLIC LAW 111–380—JAN. 4, 2011 
Public Law 111–380 
111th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to reduce lead in drinking water. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reduction of Lead in Drinking 
Water Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REDUCING LEAD IN DRINKING WATER. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–6) is amended— 
(1) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the following: 
‘‘(4) EXEMPTIONS.—The prohibitions in paragraphs (1) and 
(3) shall not apply to— 
‘‘(A) pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, or fixtures, 
including backflow preventers, that are used exclusively 
for nonpotable 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 
‘‘(B) toilets, bidets, urinals, fill valves, flushometer 
valves, tub fillers, shower valves, service saddles, or water 
distribution main gate valves that are 2 inches in diameter 
or larger.’’; and 
(2) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) DEFINITION OF LEAD FREE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this section, the 
term ‘lead free’ means— 
‘‘(A) not containing more than 0.2 percent lead when 
used with respect to solder and flux; and 
‘‘(B) 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. 
‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—The weighted average lead content of 
a pipe, pipe fitting, plumbing fitting, or fixture shall be cal-
culated by using the following formula: For each wetted compo-
nent, the percentage of lead in the component shall be multi-
plied by the ratio of the wetted surface area of that component 
to the total wetted surface area of the entire product to arrive 
at the weighted percentage of lead of the component. The 
weighted percentage of lead of each wetted component shall 
be added together, and the sum of these weighted percentages 
shall constitute the weighted average lead content of the 
product. The lead content of the material used to produce 
42 USC 1201 
note. 
Reduction of 
Lead in Drinking 
Water Act. 
Jan. 4, 2011 
[S. 3874] 
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124 STAT. 4132 
PUBLIC LAW 111–380—JAN. 4, 2011 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 3874: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 156 (2010): 
Dec. 16, considered and passed Senate. 
Dec. 17, considered and passed House. 
wetted components shall be used to determine compliance with 
paragraph (1)(B). For lead content of materials that are pro-
vided as a range, the maximum content of the range shall 
be used.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of subsections (a)(4) and 
(d) of section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as added 
by this section, apply beginning on the day that is 36 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Approved January 4, 2011. 
42 USC 300g–6 
note. 
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