Out of curiosity, Edwards decided to do a test for lead, suspecting that a chemical change in the water could be causing deterioration of the D.C. pipes. As he would later recount at congressional oversight hearings, the level of lead on his first test exceeded his meter’s range. He had to dilute the water and test again. When he did, even the diluted water tested at a minimum of 1,250 ppb of lead, a level that Edwards later said “would literally have to be classified as a hazardous waste.”
