Water Education - Contaminants Facts

Drinking Water Contaminants - Copper(Continued)

1 | 2

How much Copper is produced and released to the environment?

Copper may occur in drinking water either by contamination of the source water used by the water system, or by corrosion of copper plumbing. Corrosion of plumbing is by far the greatest cause for concern. Copper is rarely found in source water, but copper mining and smelting operations and municipal incineration may be sources of contamination.

reverse osmosis banner vertical

From 1987 to 1993, according to the Toxics Release Inventory, copper compound releases to land and water totaled nearly 450 million lbs., of which nearly all was to land. These releases were primarily from copper smelting industries. The largest releases occurred in Utah, and the largest direct releases to water occurred in Tennessee.

What happens to Copper when it is released to the environment?

All water is corrosive toward copper to some degree, even water termed noncorrosive or water treated to make it less corrosive. Corrosivity toward copper is greatest in very acidic water. Many of the other factors that affect the corrosivity of water toward lead can also be expected to affect the corrosion of copper.

How will Copper be detected in and removed from my drinking water?

The regulation for copper became effective in 1992. Between 1993 and 1995, EPA required your water supplier to collect water samples from household taps twice a year and analyze them to find out if copper is present above 1.3 ppm in more than 10 percent of all homes tested. If it is present above this level, the system must continue to monitor this contaminant twice a year.

If contaminant levels are found to be consistently above the Action Level, your water supplier must take steps to reduce the amount of copper so that it is consistently below that level. The following treatment methods have been approved by EPA for controlling copper: Corrosion control.

How will I know if Copper is in my drinking water?

If the water system fails to comply with any EPA or state treatment requirements, the system must notify the public via newspapers, radio, TV and other means. Additional actions, such as providing alternative drinking water supplies, may be required to prevent serious risks to public health.

This is a factsheet about a chemical that may be found in some public or private drinking water supplies. It may cause health problems if found in amounts greater than the health standard set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Drinking Water Standards:

  • MCLG: 1.3 ppm
  • Action level: 1.3 ppm

Copper Releases to Water and Land, 1987 to 1993 (in pounds):

 

Water

Land

TOTALS

1,538,148

442,082,245

Top Ten States *

UT

55,350

153,501,500

NM

0

130,682,387

AZ

2.636104,619,532

MI

19,76311,172,897

NY

6,65710,017,766

MT

08,696,153

TN

301,4171,208,804

MO

2501,486,000

AL

41,213513,536
MD78,601270,945
Major Industries*

Primary copper smelting

7,591

201,214,264

Other nonferrous smelt.4,41411,317,048
Plastic materials44,4229,637,850
Blast furnaces, steel156,9823,229,752
Poultry slaughtering01,249,750
Copper rolling, drawing17,253941,075
Ind. organic chems28,936827,356
Prepared feeds, misc.1,038760,094
Ind. inorganic chems220,503527,458
As part of the Drinking Water and Health pages, this fact sheet is part of a larger U.S. EPA publication:
EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

Read Next: Fluoride in Drinking Water

1 | 2
What's this? Check "Remember Me" to access your shopping cart on this computer even if you are not signed in.