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Why did Marcus Vitruvius Pollio warn Romans about lead water pipes?

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A periodic table element box for lead (Pb) shows atomic number 82, atomic weight 207.2, electron configuration, and labels for symbol, name, crystal structure, and physical state, with a legend for color and symbol meanings. — lead Properties of lead.

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a 1st-century-bce Roman architect and engineer, advised against using lead pipes for water conveyance, recommending the use of clay pipes instead.1

While he did not explicitly detail the physiological mechanism of lead poisoning in the context of water pipes, his concerns were informed by his observations of the health impacts of the metal. Vitruvius noted that workers in lead factories exhibited a poor complexion and that the fumes generated from molten lead destroyed the "vigour of the blood," demonstrating an early awareness of the toxic nature of lead exposure.1