City of Redmond's assessment is our water continues to be safe

Tacoma residents express concern about lead in their drinking water, Fox News

Redmond, WA - In light of recent concerns over lead in regional drinking water, Redmond’s assessment is that our water continues to be safe to drink. Residents receive water from Seattle and through our aquifer supply wells. Recent tests have shown the City drinking water meets standards set by the EPA and the Department of Health.

“We are proud of the high-quality water provided to Redmond residents,” said Mayor John Marchione. “We regularly test our water to ensure it not only meets but exceeds standards set for safe drinking water.”

Since 1983, the City has treated our well water to minimize corrosion of lead and other. The City has participated in lead and copper sampling, collected at a resident’s tap, since 1992. This City’s water quality has successfully met or exceeded the drinking water standards since that time. We perform testing annually; the most recent sampling event was conducted in June of 2015.

Recent concerns regarding lead, in other cities, are related primarily to water service lines containing lead components installed before 1945. The City has been proactively evaluating the potential for any concerns related to higher than normal lead levels in its service areas due to the City of Tacoma’s recent discovery of this issue in homes built between 1900 and 1945 using galvanized pipes. Redmond’s water system serves very few homes built before 1945. However, the City is planning to review and perform additional samplings for any areas of the system with components in service and that are older than 1945. The City does not have any lead pipe “goosenecks” like those identified by the City of Tacoma as the likely source of increased lead levels.