Water testing at the University of Utah has found lead and copper contamination in several campus buildings since 2020, with one building exceeding federal limits this fall. The results come as the university manages a water infrastructure that includes service lines dating to 1874.

This fall, water samples from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Center on upper campus and the Price Theatre Arts Building revealed water contamination from lead and copper pollutants. “Maintaining and modernizing a water system serving a 150-year-old campus requires long-term planning and sustained investment,” a statement from the U said.

Water testing

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG) for each contaminant. It also outlines “action level exceedances,” which require changes in the plumbing to lower contaminant levels. The levels for lead are 0.010 mg/L and 1.3 mg/L for copper.

Civil Engineer Steffanie Brown works at Facilities and is one of four water operators on campus. Brown collects water data and analyzes its trends. Based on these trends, she makes recommendations to building management on what to replace to improve contaminant levels.

Brown said that in 2025, the Lassonde Entrepreneur Center tested above the action level for copper contamination. No other buildings showed copper contamination above that action level, although the U’s 2025 Drinking Water Report has not yet been published.

She said they only test older buildings for heavy metals, since lead plumbing was entirely banned in 1986. Water testing on campus started in 2020.

In September 2025, testing at the Price Theatre Arts Building showed 0.0008 mg/L of lead and 0.0249 mg/L of copper contamination. Brown said these levels are very low. “I can’t say it’s safe, but it doesn’t exceed the EPA level,” she said.

The U does not replace plumbing that tests below the regulatory action level. “[The] facilities team continues to review … plumbing components and mitigation strategies to determine whether additional preventive steps are appropriate,” the statement said.

Drinking water reports show that since 2020, there have been 11 samples above the action level for copper and eight for lead. In 2024, the Layton Engineering Building tested above the action level for lead. Brown said its service line was later replaced.

Campus’ water infrastructure

The U’s public water system is regulated by state and federal agencies. Brown said the U has been purchasing all of its water from the city since 2003, which lowers the quantity of required testing, since the city performs its own tests.

According to the recent statement, the complex nature of the campus’s water system, which intersects municipal lines and university-owned distribution lines, results in “maintenance challenges.”

The U owns and operates 310 service lines, which connect buildings to the city’s distribution system. Of these lines, 50 are made of unknown materials and were installed before 1947. Some date as far back as 1874, according to an inventory report. Service lines installed in that time period were largely made of lead, according to the EPA.

According to the statement, the U established a prioritized replacement schedule to upgrade the campus’s water infrastructure. It also replaces relevant water systems when major construction renovations take place. “The university is regularly modernizing older portions of the water system while maintaining reliable service across campus,” the statement said.

Brown said Facilities has not found any lead service lines yet. “But we do have some unknowns that we’re still … researching,” she said. If her team finds a lead line, the U has 10 years to replace it, she said.

Brown said heavy metal contaminants can enter drinking water through these service lines, old soldering, faucets and old water filters. According to the U’s statement, Facilities installed special filtration systems in historic buildings around Presidents Circle to further protect against these contaminants. Brown said students can run the water cold before use to reduce pollutants.

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