本文介绍了一项研究的结果，该研究旨在调查新斯科舍省农村55户从水井取水的家庭的管道系统中重金属的迁移情况。连续三天每天从每家每户采集自来水和静水样本。铜、铅和锌的金属迁移大量发生在抽样家庭的管道系统中。在许多情况下，这种浸出会导致铜和铅的浓度在水管中停留几个小时后就超过加拿大的饮用水限值。在所研究的四个社区中，每个社区的水样中铜和铅的浓度都超过了建议的限值。平均而言，当水在管道中停留一夜时，铜、锌和铅的浓度会增加5到22倍。相关分析证实，常用于评估水的腐蚀倾向的四个指标（即Langelier、Ryznar、侵蚀性指数和CLSO）并不能很好地预测给定水中可能发生的金属浸出程度。 铜和铅的浸出程度与水的化学成分密切相关。逐步回归分析有助于确定12个水化学变量与观察到的金属活化程度相关。这些变量包括钾、钠、钙、镁和锰；氯化物、硝酸盐、氢和硫酸盐离子；溶解氧和电导率。未发现水的pH值与金属浸出程度之间存在明显的关系，也未发现金属浸出的绝对量与管道的年龄或长度，或与水在管道中停留的时间有密切关系。由于在静水样本中发现了高浓度的铜和铅，建议有金属管道的家庭中的居民在早晨使用之前，或如果水已经好几个小时没有使用，让水冲洗几分钟。 包括41个参考文献和表格。

This article presents results of a study conducted to investigate the mobilization of heavy metals from plumbing systems in 55 homes in rural Nova Scotia that obtain water from wells. Samples of both running and standing water were taken daily from each home for three days. Metal mobilization of copper, lead, and zinc occurred in significant amounts from the plumbing systems of the homes sampled. In many cases this leaching caused concentrations of copper and lead to exceed Canadian drinking water limits within only a few hours of standing in the water pipes. Water samples containing copper and lead concentrations in excess of recommended limits were found in each of the four communities studied. On the average, concentrations of copper, zinc, and lead increased by factors ranging from 5 to 22 when water remained in pipes overnight. Correlation analyses confirmed that four indexes commonly used to assess the corrosive tendency of a water (namely the Langelier, Ryznar, and Aggressiveness indexes and CLSO) were not good predictors of the degree of metal leaching that could occur in a given water. The degree of copper and lead leaching was strongly related to the chemical composition of the water. Stepwise regression analysis helped identify twelve water chemistry variables as being related to the degree of metal mobilization observed. These variables included potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and manganese; the chloride, nitrate, hydrogen, and sulfate ions; and dissolved oxygen and conductivity. No obvious relationship was found between the pH of the water and the degree of metal leaching, nor was the absolute amount of metal leached found to be strongly related to the age or length of piping, or to the length of time the water stood in the pipes. Because of the high concentrations of copper and lead found in samples of standing water, it is recommended that residents in homes with metal piping allow the water to flush for several minutes before use in the morning or if the water has not been used for several hours. Includes 41 references, tables.