This is a follow up to my repipe thread (I had a pinhole leak outside the house recently).

I did a metals test on my drinking water and it came up positive for copper at .2 PPM mg/L. (I assume "PPM" means parts per mililiter).

The test doesn't say how to interpret the results. Does anyone here know whether this means I should repipe with PEX? Or is it normal to have this copper reading in a house with copper pipes?

I tried to research this on the web before posting this here but I hit a dead end, not much info on these tests or their results.

Thanks.

Copper in water in a house with copper pipes is normal. So normal, in fact, that most nutritionists assume people are getting their copper requirements from their drinking water. It would only be an issue if you were to have an inborne error of metabolism called Wilson's Disease, where your liver could not detoxify copper.

1.3 PPM is what the EPA considers safe.

Use a filtration system rated for lead and copper, to reduce your PPM readin. Switching to PEX may bring a whole new set of other worries.

Copper is a naturally occurring mineral that is dissolved in most municipal water supplies. While traveling thru copper pipes may add a trace amount, it should not be anything to be concerned over. This ain't lead piping in the Roman Empire....

Here's a statement from my local utility company's most recent water quality report, regarding minerals in water:

"City Utilities fully complies with the lead and copper provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. In 2016, City Utilities gathered samples from a number of residences in accordance with state and federal regulations. EPA regulations require that at least 90 percent of the samples are below the action level for both lead (15 ppb) and copper (1.3 ppm). Of the 57 residences sampled in 2016, none of the results exceeded the action level

for either lead or copper. "

So, if you're coming up with 0.2 ppm, you're more than 85% below what is considered a safe level (1.3 ppm). And yes, that is parts per million, not parts per milliliter.

I had a tenant file a claim in small claims court because when she turned on the water, there was dirt in the line. She refused to flush the water for a few seconds before making baby formula.

So I tested the water from all faucets, her unit and my other tenants. I also tested neighbors water from their outside hose spigots. I even tested water from the nearby fire hydrant.

Guess what? The City had been making repairs on the underground water supply lines in the street. They had sent out letters to all residents that over the next two weeks they should flush out their lines before use. Dirt had been getting into the system.

So I provided this information to my tenant who still wanted to go forward with her claim. I had also given her a on the counter water purifier with replaceable filters. She had removed it before making her claim. She was after a quick pay-off. I had my receipts where as I purchased 20 water filter systems for my tenants with young children and infants.