Copper in Drinking Water: A Public Health Perspective
- Published:
- Updated: January 2, 2025
Summary
Copper, vital in small amounts, often enters drinking water through pipe corrosion. Understanding its effects and maintaining safe levels is crucial.
- Health impacts: High copper levels can cause gastrointestinal distress and long-term damage.
- Safe limits: The EPA sets a maximum of 1.3 mg/L to prevent adverse effects.
- Corrosion control: Monitoring and treatment in plumbing systems are essential to minimize copper contamination.
Copper is a mineral that humans need to stay healthy in trace quantities. It finds many applications because of its good thermal and electrical conductivity. For water in the form of drinking water, copper is generally supplied by corrosion of copper pipes and fittings.
Copper is a mineral that we need to eat, but too much copper will cause health issues. We need to know the route copper takes to our tap water and how harmful it is when it’s a high concentration.
Potential Health Impacts of Copper
Concentrations of copper in the water we drink can be quite damaging to human health. In short-term exposure, the excess copper causes nausea, vomiting and gastric cramps. Chronic high levels are linked to more pronounced health complications (diseases of the liver and kidneys, even death) in the long term.
Keep in mind that not everyone will be sensitive to copper. Some people will develop symptoms after drinking water with copper below recommended levels, and others won’t experience any adverse reaction when they are given copper at high levels. This range of sensitivity makes it all the more important that copper be kept within regulated levels in our tap water.
Acceptable Levels of Copper in Drinking Water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has capped the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for copper in drinking water at 1.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L). That benchmark is based on copper’s health impacts and whether the technologies of treatment remove it.
This safe limit is a level above which health effects are unlikely to be harmful, and this is a safety net. But don’t worry, if you do find copper in water, it’s generally due to rust in domestic plumbing fixtures, not in the water.
How Copper Gets into Drinking Water
Copper normally enters our drinking water from the rust of home plumbing fixtures. While water idles in copper fittings and pipes, the copper can dissolve slowly and build up in the water.
The rate of copper corrosion is influenced by a variety of factors, but these are some of them:
Acidity/alkalinity (pH) of the water.
The temperature of the water
The time that the water stays on the pipes.
Other minerals in the water that may either accelerate or slow corrosion.
From the knowledge of these variables, copper corrosion can be controlled, and the amount of copper present in water reduced.
What is the role of water treatment in reducing copper levels?
It’s water treatment that helps us keep copper levels safe in our water. They’re mostly aimed at curbing corrosion of pipes since this is the most common source of copper in most drinking water.
The rust prevention methods include pH water, corrosion-control chemicals, and repair rusty pipes and fixtures. Water suppliers often use some or all of these to manage copper levels in the water they sell to consumers.
Public Health Measures to Monitor and Control Copper in Drinking Water
Controlling copper in water is a public health priority. Lead and Copper Rule – The Lead and Copper Rule of the EPA requires water systems to track copper levels at consumer faucets. If 10 per cent or more of tap water sample exceeds the 1.3 mg/L copper action level, water treatment facilities will need to prevent corrosion.
These may include:
Decanting the water to be less corrosive.
Replacing lead service lines
Public education on copper exposure hazards.
They are all part of making sure that our water is not poisonous with dangerous amounts of copper in it.
Testing for Copper in Drinking Water
It is necessary to test water frequently for copper. : Water testing should be done by an EPA certified water testing laboratory for proper testing. Test especially if you have copper plumbing or fixtures in your house, which could be a big reason for copper to accumulate in your water supply.
if you notice your tap water has a metallic taste or stains fixtures with a bluish-green, it is probably too high in copper. In that case, test the copper immediately to make sure it remains within the safe range.
Personal Measures to Reduce Copper Exposure
Copper concentrations in drinking water are the job of public health officials, but people can also do what they can to reduce their exposure to copper. A few ideas:
Drink and cook with cold water: Because the rate of corrosion is higher, hot water tends to have more copper in it.
flush out your faucets: If the water has sat in pipes for hours (overnight, say), run the faucet for one or two minutes to flush out the rusty copper.
Check your plumbing: If you have copper pipes or fittings, inspection and regular maintenance prevents corrosion.
Copper is an essential trace element, but, like everything, too much of it is bad. When we know the risks, and do what we can to manage copper, we will have water that’s safe and healthy to drink.
Copper in drinking water is a public health issue that should always be controlled. With our plumbing, testing our water every month, and the proper prevention we can ensure that our water doesn’t contain too much copper. Together, they are protecting our health and our communities’ health.
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