The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule to replace all lead pipes in water systems across the United States due to concerns about severe harms posed by lead contamination.
The EPA intends to modify the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule to achieve a “100 percent lead pipe replacement within 10 years,” the agency said in its announcement. “When lead service lines are present, they represent the greatest source of lead exposure in drinking water.”
The proposed modifications would affect the “vast majority of water systems.” The rule would require locating legacy lead pipes so that they can be replaced “efficiently and equitably.” Water systems will have to improve tap sampling efforts.
At present, if a water system’s sampling finds 15 micrograms of lead per liter of water, authorities must inform the public and replace all the lead pipes. The new proposal reduces this threshold to 10 micrograms.
The rules would also strengthen protections to reduce people’s exposure to lead by requiring water systems to perform more outreach to customers and make lead reduction filters available to them.
“The science is clear: there is no safe level of lead exposure. In children, it can severely harm mental and physical development—slowing down learning and damaging the brain. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer,” the EPA said in a Nov. 30 press release.
Hurdles Remain
The EPA insists the target of 100 percent lead replacement within 10 years is achievable, pointing out that cities like Newark, New Jersey; Benton Harbor, Michigan; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, replaced their lead service lines in less than 10 years. Moreover, Detroit; Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Wheaton, Illinois, have also committed to a 10-year replacement deadline.Funding for the proposed rule would come from the bipartisan infrastructure law that set aside $15 billion for lead service line replacement and $11.7 billion in general Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. To date, the EPA has granted more than $3.5 billion in funding for lead pipe replacement across the United States.
More than 10 federal agencies will be involved in the effort.
The EPA will accept public comments for a period of 60 days and plans to hold a virtual public hearing on Jan. 16, 2024.
In a Nov. 30 statement, David LaFrance, the CEO of American Water Works Association (AWWA), welcomed the proposal, saying that the organization “strongly supports” removing all lead service lines from communities as quickly as feasible.
However, he pointed out that while some communities may be able to quickly replace their lead service lines, others may need a longer time. In addition, the cost of such replacement will also be a “significant challenge.”
The average cost to fully replace a single lead service line is more than $10,000, Mr. LaFrance said. Given the EPA estimates that there are 9.2 million lead lines nationwide, the total cost “could easily exceed $90 billion.”
“Even with the unprecedented $15 billion injection for lead service line replacement from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, water bills will rise to pay for this initiative,” he said.
“Recognizing that many households already struggle to pay their water bills, we look forward to working with EPA and other partners to lessen the cost burden in disadvantaged communities.”
Lead Water Contamination
The EPA proposal comes nearly a decade after the 2014 water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in which thousands of people were exposed to high lead levels in water after the city of Flint switched its water supply. The switch led to corrosion in lead pipes and contaminated the drinking water supplied to the city.Mona Hanna-Attisha, a Michigan pediatrician who discovered the elevated lead levels in Flint’s children and brought attention to the problem, said in a statement that the EPA proposal is “a game changer for kids and communities.”
The rules will ensure that “we will never again see the preventable tragedy of a city, or a child, poisoned by their pipes,” she said.
Mr. LaFrance cautioned that authorities will have to overcome multiple barriers to accelerate the replacement of lead pipes and meet the EPA’s timelines.
Many property owners may not be open to replacing lead pipes even if the water systems pay for it. Complicating the issue is the fact that water systems in many states do not have the legal authority to access private property without the owner’s permission, he said.
Moreover, the water systems also lack clear authority to spend public funds to remove lead pipes on private property.
“In other places, water systems will face logistical challenges as they coordinate lead service line replacement with street improvement projects or incorporate it into large capital projects,“ he said. ”Lining up trained contractors in a tight labor market and acquiring necessary materials introduces additional complications.”
