"I'm a restaurant owner, I know about cooking, I'm not a geologist," Costa Waez.
Waez, owner of Acpolois in Ybor City says without city water, his family business wouldn't exist.
"We use it for cooking, for tea, for coffee, for everything else without any second thought," said Waez.
That is until Thursday. A new investigation by the Guardian newspaper accuses Tampa, St. Pete and 33 other cities of cheating on water tests to produce lower lead numbers.
Environmental Engineer Dr. Jeff Cunningham says the EPA warned communities against practices like pre-flushing water pipes or running water slowly during a lead test. That releases much less lead from the pipe, producing lower lead content numbers.
Something the guardian says happened in St. Petersburg and Tampa.
"If our water supply does have appreciative levels of lead in it and we're not detecting that because of the way the samples are being taken, then it’s potentially a health risk," said Cunningham.
Leaving more and more folks thinking about what they're drinking.
"You normally think you pour the water, its good, but since the incidents that have been happening, it does come to your mind a little bit," said Chet Thomas.
"It probably does more and we probably should be more aware of it." Said Holly Thomas.
It also has business owners like Waez, counting on city leaders to flush out the problem.
"If we don't trust them, we can't do business,” said Waez. “We should trust them because our lives are in their hands."
