The hypothesis is that older houses use lead pipe plumbing and therefore a higher level of lead content will be detected in the piped water, as compared to newer homes which use PVC pipes.

You will visit 5 new houses (less than 10 years old) and 5 old houses (more than 50 years old) to collect water samples. You will survey the plumbing in each house to determine if lead, copper or PVC pipes are used. You will let the tap water run for 30 seconds before taking the water sample.

You will need 10 small bottles to collect water samples, and a laboratory to test for lead in the samples.

The results show that many houses which are more than 50 years of age have lead pipes and where they do, a higher dosage of lead is found in the water. Many houses which are less than 10 years old have PVC pipes and where they do, they have very low levels of lead.

This science project is interesting because it helps us understand the effects of lead in our drinking water. It also helps us understand the importance of replacing old lead pipes with newer, safer pipes.

Consider testing for copper in tap water, or using testing kits such as Prolab to reduce the cost.