Just bought a 1985 home in rural Michigan with well water, testing for lead was never required by any part of the process. Post-sale I paid for a detailed water analysis, about $200, which found 4PPB of Lead. I called a few plumbers and they weren’t willing to do any inspection or make any recommendations.

It cost about $6k in total to install a (Kinetico) water softener & RO system to remove it from my drinking water.

I previously lived in Flint during the early few years of the changes that introduced high lead levels in the city drinking water. I tell this to doctors but they suggest there isn’t any tests they can do, as it is deposited into tissues and bones and not really found in blood tests, that such tests are typically for children.

I guess I’m just saying there is no doubt I’ve had a great deal of lead in my drinking water throughout my life so I think a lot about how it shaped me and the communities I’ve lived in, how it shaped my experience with school and work.

How many people are being treated for anxiety, anger, or depression in a seemingly incurable medicated loop, all the while unknowingly exposed to lead?

Anyway as a PSA, I suggest that you should only believe that your water is lead-free when it has been tested directly from the tap and you have a report of 0PPB. Landlords and home sellers have a financial incentive to ensure that such testing is never done, and if lead is found, I don’t know what can be done other than pulling out your wallet one way or another