In this Associated Press file photo taken May 3, 2016, a woman collects a water sample for lead testing in Tacoma, Wash. The City of Lawrence recently authorized the purchase of laboratory equipment for in-house testing of water for lead and other metals.

The City of Lawrence currently tests the water of less than 1 percent of properties for lead, but the purchase of new laboratory equipment for in-house testing could change that.

The city currently sends its water samples to the state for testing, and often has to wait three to four weeks for results. Some of those samples have come back showing low levels of lead contamination.

Leaders with the city’s utilities department said the in-house testing — once it is up and running — could potentially support policies for additional city sampling or private testing. Those decisions, though, won’t be made for several months, once the lead-testing lab is fully operational.

“Our procedures are going to have to be reviewed and we’ll have to make the decision as to what sampling we’re going to do and how often we’re going to do it,” said Jeanette Klamm, a management analyst with the city’s utility department. “That’ll all be decided once we get (the equipment) on site and get it ready to use.”

The City Commission recently authorized the purchase of more than $120,000 of laboratory equipment to test water in-house for lead and other metals as part of the Lawrence H2O Lead Awareness Program. In the proposal for the purchase, it was noted that city water is below mandated “action levels” of 15 parts per billion for lead; however, the potential for lead contamination still exists and there is no safe level of lead.

Lead is especially harmful for infants and children, and even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The effects of lead exposure cannot be corrected.

While the city’s water starts off essentially lead free, once it leaves the city’s water main it can be contaminated by private plumbing systems that contain lead. While some tap samples tested by the city are at zero, others were as high as 9.6 ppb. As required by the Environmental Protection Agency, the city tests 30 tap samples for lead every three years. With about 32,000 water meters in Lawrence, those samples amount to a fraction of a percent of the homes, businesses and schools within the city.

Properties built before 1986 are more likely to have lead in their plumbing, and lead can be found in multiple places in the plumbing system, such as pipes, fittings, soldering and faucets.

The school district has taken some action, according to district spokeswoman Julie Boyle. Boyle said that the district’s schools do not contain lead piping and that the district has made “extensive plumbing upgrades, including copper piping, new faucets, fixtures and water fountains.” Boyle said the district has not tested water samples for lead but that it has consulted with a water quality lab.

“Since our facilities don’t fit the criteria, there isn’t any reason to believe it’s an issue,” Boyle said via email.

Once Lawrence’s lab is operating, water quality staff with the city will perform lead testing in the newly expanded laboratory at the Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant in lieu of outsourcing to other laboratories. Klamm said the city’s lab will likely be fully operational in January.

“Once we get it purchased, of course there’s a lag time between now and when we’ll actually get the instrument, and then there’s at least another couple of months of proving time if everything goes well to get it set up,” Klamm said. “This is a really complex piece of equipment; it’s not something where you can just plug it in and then throw a sample in there and you’re ready to roll.”

More information about the city’s lead awareness program can by found on its website.