Lead in UK Tap Water: The Hidden Risk Every Household Should Know
Most of us assume that turning on the tap delivers clean, safe drinking water. And for the most part, it does. But recent investigations, including a Daily Mail special report (April 2025), have put a spotlight on a more hidden issue: lead contamination in older homes.
This isn’t about scaremongering — it’s about awareness. Lead pipes may no longer be installed, but millions of properties across the UK still rely on them, and the health consequences of even low-level exposure are significant.
Why lead is still a problem in 2025
The Daily Mail described lead in tap water as a “silent public health crisis”. Lead service pipes were widely used in UK housing up until the 1970s. That means if your home was built before then, there’s a real chance lead may still be present in your plumbing.
Water companies add chemicals like orthophosphate to reduce how much lead dissolves, but that doesn’t remove the risk. And progress on replacing pipes has been slow: according to a New Statesman investigation, only 130,000 lead pipes were replaced in the last five years, leaving over 3 million still in place.
What the media is saying
The issue of lead in water has been covered across UK outlets:
- Schools at risk – An i News / Waterline analysis found that in the past decade, some UK schools reported lead levels at or above the official safety limit.
- Millions of homes affected – Yahoo News UK reported that up to 8 million older buildings could still have lead pipes in use.
- Industry warnings – WaterSafe, the national plumbing assurance body, regularly warns homeowners to check for lead during renovation and plumbing works. (WaterSafe)
- Hidden exposure – The Daily Mail has called lead a “silent public health crisis”, noting many families are unaware that their homes may still contain lead plumbing.
Why lead matters: the health risks
Lead is invisible in water — you can’t see, smell or taste it. Yet even at very low levels, it builds up in the body over time, causing lasting harm:
Children & infants – Reduced IQ, learning difficulties, behavioural problems, and growth delays.
Pregnant women & unborn babies – Lead crosses the placenta, with risks of developmental damage, low birth weight and preterm birth.
Adults – Long-term exposure is linked to kidney damage, high blood pressure, and memory or concentration problems.
Health experts, including the World Health Organization, agree: there is no safe level of lead exposure.
How to know if your home is at risk
One of the challenges is that you can’t see, taste, or smell lead in water. The Daily Mail report emphasised that most households don’t even realise their pipes may be made of lead.
That’s why we’ve linked to a simple tool on our site, where you can enter your postcode to check when your home was built.
What you can do right now
If your home is older, or you’re unsure:
- Use our postcode checker to see if your property is in a higher-risk age band by being pre 1970.
- Ask your water company for a free lead test if you’re concerned.
- Flush taps before use if water has been sitting in pipes overnight.
- Use a lead-reducing filter — like our Lead Defence Filter, which removes over 95% of lead alongside chlorine, microplastics, and other contaminants.
Ultimately, replacing lead pipes is the long-term solution. But with millions of homes still connected to legacy systems, filtering your tap water is a practical, immediate step you can take for peace of mind.
Final sip
Lead in drinking water is often invisible, but the risks are very real — especially in older homes. As the media has highlighted, millions of UK properties may still have legacy plumbing that exposes households to lead.
With growing awareness, more households are asking the right questions: Could this affect me? My family? My children? By checking your home’s plumbing age and adding the protection of a lead-reducing filter, you can take control today — and safeguard tomorrow.
