If you live in an older Lititz home or rely on a private well in Warwick, Elizabeth or Penn township, a water test is the only way to know what is coming out of your own tap. Here is how to get one done properly.
Start with your water provider
If you are on public water from Lititz Borough or Warwick Township, call your provider first. Ask three questions:
- How is my service line classified in your inventory: lead, galvanized, non-lead or unknown?
- Has my home ever been part of your lead and copper sampling program?
- Do you offer free or reduced-cost testing for customers?
Since October 2024 federal rules have required community water systems to keep a public service line inventory, so these questions should have clear answers. Some systems also offer testing when a customer’s line is listed as lead or unknown.
Your provider’s annual Consumer Confidence Report, delivered by July 1 each year, lists recent lead and copper sampling results for the system as a whole. That is useful context, but it is not a test of your house.
Use an accredited laboratory
For a reliable result, use a laboratory accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for lead in drinking water. DEP maintains a searchable list of accredited labs on its website, and several serve Lancaster County with walk-in drop-off or mail-in kits. Prices vary; a single lead test commonly runs from about $20 to $60.
Home test strips sold in hardware stores can show whether lead is present above a certain level, but they are not precise and should not be the basis for a health decision.
How to collect a good sample
Labs will send instructions, and following them closely matters more than most people expect.
- Collect a “first draw” sample: water that has sat in the pipes at least six hours, often first thing in the morning before anyone uses water.
- Use the tap you drink from most, usually the kitchen cold tap.
- Do not run water or remove the aerator beforehand unless the lab tells you to.
- Fill the bottle to the line, close it, label it, and get it to the lab within the stated time.
Some labs suggest a second, flushed sample taken after running the tap for a few minutes. Comparing the two can show whether lead is coming from fixtures close to the tap or from the service line farther away.
Reading the result
Results are usually given in parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per liter, which are the same thing. For context:
- The long-standing federal action level for public systems is 15 ppb. Under rules finalized in October 2024, it drops to 10 ppb for most systems starting in 2027.
- The EPA’s health goal for lead is zero. Any detected lead is worth reducing, especially in homes with infants or pregnant women.
If your result is above 10 ppb, call your provider and share it. Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead for drinking and cooking in the meantime, and consider testing again after any plumbing work.
Private wells
Well owners are not covered by public water rules, so testing is the owner’s job. Penn State Extension recommends testing private wells regularly for bacteria and nitrates, and testing for lead and corrosivity when the house has older plumbing. In parts of Lancaster County with acidic groundwater, corrosive well water can pull lead from household pipes even when the aquifer itself has none.
Background
Questions about lead in local water drew wide attention in 2016, when state regulators found that Lititz Borough and Warwick Township had not followed federal sampling rules. Our restored coverage starts with the borough violations. For families with young children, see what parents should know about lead.