Drinking water
Lead pipes in Edinburgh tenements
Lead pipes in Edinburgh are most likely in homes built before 1970, and Scottish Water and the drinking water regulator both say the only sure fix is replacing them.
By the Pipes Up the Stair site team · how pages are checked · Updated
Scottish Water names tenements among the older properties where lead can still turn up, so it is worth ruling out in any older flat in Marchmont, Leith or the Old Town.
Is your flat likely to have lead?
If it was built before 1970, it might. Scottish Water dates the end of lead to the 1960s, when it was phased out, and it became illegal in 1969; a pre-1970 home is more likely to have it. The Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) agrees.
Tenements have two extra places to check. Scottish Water's lead factsheet says some older properties, including tenements, may still have a lead-lined water storage tank, and that lead solder on copper joints, banned in 1987, can also add lead.
How can you tell if a pipe is lead?
Look at the pipe coming up to your kitchen stop valve. The DWQR describes lead as dull grey, easily scratched to reveal shiny silver metal, with slight bulges at the joints. Small dark grey or black particles in the water can also point to lead. If you're unsure, Scottish Water says it can test your water if you're concerned about lead.
What should you do until the pipes are replaced?
Use the kitchen cold tap, and run it first. Scottish Water's advice is to run that tap until the water feels colder, especially after it has stood overnight, and its factsheet says two minutes is usually enough. The DWQR suggests drawing off a washing-up bowlful after the water has stood, and more if the lead pipe is over 40 metres long.
What is the legal limit for lead?
The legal limit is 10 µg/l at the tap. The DWQR says all drinking water must meet the 10 µg/l standard that came into force in December 2013, and the 2022 amending regulations, in force from 1 January 2023, list lead at 10 µgPb/l at the consumer's tap.
Scottish Water's lower figure is for its own work: it renews its lead communication pipe when lead in the supply is greater than 5 µg/l. That is Scottish Water's trigger for replacing its part of the pipe, not the legal standard.
- 10 µg/lLegal limit at the tap (DWQR, regulations)
- 5 µg/lScottish Water's renewal trigger for its own pipe
Who replaces which part?
The owners replace the supply pipe and everything inside. Scottish Water's lead replacement factsheet says it renews the communication pipe where lead exceeds 5 µg/l, and aims to do so within 4 weeks of approving the owner's new supply pipe. The DWQR says that once your pipework is replaced, Scottish Water must replace small lead sections in its part free of charge.
The new supply pipe must meet the Scottish Water Byelaws 2014: blue polyethylene, at least 25 mm across, with a WRAS-approved stop valve and a double check valve. Earthing to water pipes is now forbidden, it adds, and plastic pipe may affect older earthing.
What happens in a tenement with a shared supply?
The owners need to act together. Where the old pipe feeds more than one home, the factsheet says the owner replacing it must lay a new separate supply pipe, which Scottish Water may then connect to the main free of charge. A pipe serving several flats is shared under the Tenements (Scotland) Act, so a stair-wide replacement is an owners' decision; see shared pipes and the Tenements Act and the council's free shared repairs advice.
Is there help with the cost?
Possibly a small grant. The DWQR says local authorities may offer a small grant through their scheme of assistance, but funding is finite and varies by council. The City of Edinburgh Council says it does not offer grants for repairs and maintenance, and we couldn't confirm any Edinburgh grant aimed at lead pipes.
What if you rent?
Private landlords have a firm rule. Scottish Water's landlord guidance says privately rented homes in Scotland must not have lead pipes, fittings or tanks in the drinking water supply from March 2024, covering the supply from the boundary stopcock to the kitchen tap. If you rent and suspect lead, tell your landlord in writing.
Asked on the stair
Can a water filter make lead pipes safe?
No filter is named as a fix. Both bodies say replacement is the only sure way.
Is a lead-lined tank in the roof space a problem?
Scottish Water says some tenements still have one, and advises connecting the kitchen drinking tap directly to the supply pipe.
Who tests water for lead?
Scottish Water says it can test your water if you're concerned about lead.
Will a new plastic pipe affect the electrics?
It may affect older earthing, Scottish Water says, so have it checked.
Where this comes from
- Lead and your water — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): 1969, pre-1970 homes
- Lead: what you can do — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): kitchen tap, boiling, testing
- Factsheet 7: lead explained — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): tanks, solder, two minutes
- Lead pipe replacement — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): 5 µg/l trigger, shared supplies, byelaws, earthing
- Landlord guidance on lead — Scottish Water (archived copy of its page): private lets from March 2024
- Lead in drinking water — DWQR: 10 µg/l standard, how to spot lead, grants
- Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 — legislation.gov.uk: 10 µgPb/l at the tap
- Shared repairs and maintenance — City of Edinburgh Council: no grants for repairs