Boiling Denver water does not remove lead

Lead in drinking water is one problem you cannot boil away. Heating the water does nothing to the lead, and worse, hot water often carries higher lead levels than cold. A rolling boil that would make water safe from bacteria leaves the lead exactly where it was.

The reflex to boil comes from other emergencies, which is what makes lead tricky. During a boil advisory for contamination, a few minutes at a boil really does solve the problem. Lead is a different animal. A family trying to do the right thing can make things worse by reaching for hot tap water to cook or mix infant formula, or by boiling a pot and assuming the risk is handled.

What actually removes lead is a filter certified for it. If your home is in Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program or may still have a lead service line, use one of those filters for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula. Start from the cold tap rather than the hot, since cold water picks up less lead on its way to the faucet.

Boiling still has its place, just not this one. Save it for when an official notice tells you it is needed for a different problem, like a bacterial advisory, and never count it as lead removal. Denver Water’s guidance on the sources of lead spells out the filter and cold-water steps if you need to confirm whether your line is affected.