Denver Water lead filters are a bridge, not a forever fix

When Denver Water flags a home as possibly served by a lead service line, the free filter that shows up is a bridge, not the cure. The pipe is still the thing that has to change.

Every customer who may have a lead line gets a water pitcher, a filter, and replacement filters, all certified to remove lead, at no cost. The instruction that goes with them is the part worth holding onto: keep using the filter until six months after the lead service line has been replaced. The filter is one leg of a larger Lead Reduction Program, which pairs replacing the lines with providing filters and adjusting water chemistry to lower the risk in the meantime.

The reason the timing is spelled out so plainly is that filtered water becomes a daily habit during the wait, and a habit can feel like a solution. It is not. Pouring through the pitcher manages the exposure; it does not mean the lead pipe under the property is gone.

So treat the filter as a standing instruction while the replacement question is open. Keep the replacement-filter mailings on schedule so the pitcher keeps working, and lean on it especially for drinking, cooking, and mixing infant formula, where lead matters most. Denver Water’s current lead guidance is the signal to watch: stay on the filter until the program confirms the line is replaced and the six-month window has run out.