As many of us across the country continue drinking water through “lead straws,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking to speed up replacement of lead pipes via new regulations and a ten year deadline. Funding has been made available too, and it is ever more clear that infrastructure improvements are nowhere near done.
Drinking Water Through Lead Straws?
That’s how the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) describes the nation-wide problem of lead pipes, with analysis of EPA data finding that the lingering problem of lead pipes is especially prevalent in several urban areas:
Lead pipes occur in all 50 states, but some states have a disproportionate problem. These include Illinois, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida, which are especially heavy hit. Other states, including North Carolina, Michigan, Georgia, Indiana, and Louisiana, also are among the states with the most reported lead pipes.
Several cities report massive numbers of pipes with lead, including Chicago (387,000), Cleveland (235,000), New York City (112,000), Detroit (80,000), Milwaukee (74,000), Denver (64,000), St. Louis (63,000), Indianapolis (55,000), Minneapolis (49,000), Buffalo, New York (40,000), Cocoa, Florida (37,000), Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) Water in Maryland (36,000), Atlanta (31,000), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (29,000), and Philadelphia (25,000)….Some of these cities (like New York) have large numbers of service lines of unknown material (“unknowns”) that may be lead, so these are likely underestimates for most cities.
In all, according to the EPA, about 9 million homes across the country are currently served via “legacy lead pipes,” and the new regulations provide standards and funds to drive removal efforts in areas where progress has been lagging:
The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements establish achievable, common-sense practices which have been implemented by several states and cities. The public health and economic benefits of the final rule are estimated to be up to 13 times greater than the costs, and together with new funding…, water systems will be able to accelerate removal of lead pipes and create good-paying local jobs in the process…. EPA is also announcing the availability of $35 million in competitive grant funding for reducing lead in drinking water. Communities are invited to apply directly for grant funding through this program. Additional federal funding is available to support lead pipe replacement projects and EPA has developed a website identifying available funding sources.
Constructive Dive reports that as work to identify and eliminate lead pipes around the country ratchets up, drinking water tests will also be subject to higher standards:
“The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements also require more rigorous testing of drinking water and have a lower threshold for communities to take action on lead in their water supply. The rule imposes the strictest limits on lead in drinking water since the EPA first set standards in 1993.”
Miles To Go…
Overall, despite plenty of progress on infrastructure, there is a lot of building left to do–and plenty of funding still to be awarded. In fact, $720 billion of IIJA funds remain to be distributed in the final two years of the initiative.Builders eager to follow the action locally will find this IIJA funded projects map, as well as these state fact sheets especially useful.
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