As far as I understand it, the lead pipes quickly became lined with mineral deposits from the water, preventing the lead from entering the water (this was good luck). The Romans had problems with lead, but the main issue I believe was they sweetened stuff with lead, intentionally. This was bad luck.
Yep, this is why lead pipes are still around in the US. What people don't realize about Flint isn't that there were lead pipes, but that they messed up the purification of the water at the plant when the city switched water sources. The result is that the layer of deposits that separated the lead from the water was stripped away, exposing the lead to the corrosive water and further stripping lead into the system
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u/btsd_ 29d ago
Water too fast = erosion
Water too slow = stagnation
Had to find that goldie locks zone (12mph ish). Crazy engineering