GREENTOWN – The Greentown water utility is taking steps to protect residents from drinking lead-laced water after tests revealed three homes had elevated levels of the potentially toxic metal.

Utility Superintendent Bryan Klein said the increased lead levels were discovered when the town completed a state-mandated test which requires utilities to check 10 homes every three years for lead.

He said three homes had traces of the metal that were at or slightly above levels deemed safe by the state, which required the town to send out letters to all its customers informing them of the issue.

Klein said the water distributed from the utility is lead free, but some homes built before 1984 have soldering in the pipes which contains lead. If water sits too long in the pipes, it can pull the lead from the soldering and end up in the drinking water.

Over time, that could cause serious health problems such as damage to the brain, kidneys and red blood cells, along with an increase in blood pressure, according to the EPA.

Klein said the utility is now taking steps to install a new system which will inject phosphates into the water, which will stop it from pulling out lead in the pipes and ensure the water is safe to drink.

“We’re doing this as an overkill safeguard so we don’t have to worry about it,” he said.

This is the first time tests have revealed elevated lead levels in Greentown’s water, Klein said. The utility is now required to ramp up testing for at least the next year until levels fall below the state limit.

He said that will happen with the installation of the new injection system, which should be in place by the end of the year.

Until then, residents who are concerned about lead in their water should let it run from the tap before drinking it if the water in the faucet has gone unused for more than six hours, according to the letter sent to customer by the utility.