DOW announces complimentary tap water sampling for customers

Published on June 10, 2024

LIHUE – In compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (2021), the Department of Water (DOW), in partnership with the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH), is conducting a complimentary household tap water sampling program.  Tap water will be collected and analyzed from customers’ homes, at no cost to the customers.  The purpose of the tap water sampling program is to monitor the level of risk that individual households may face from exposure to lead in their household’s drinking water.

The EPA Lead and Copper Rule Revisions aim to better protect children and communities from the risks of lead exposure.  Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), water utilities must periodically collect and test water samples from a subset of their customers’ homes to determine how much lead, if any, may be present in the water.   In accordance with the EPA Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, a tap water sampling protocol has been designed to better locate elevated levels of lead.   

To participate in the complimentary tap water sampling program, customers will be asked to obtain water samples from their kitchen or bathroom cold water tap. Samples will be collected from customers’ homes by DOW staff for laboratory analysis, with results to follow.

A limited number of participants will be accepted into the program, which runs from July – August 2024. To sign up for the tap water sampling program, please contact the Department of Water at (808)245-5448.  

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