Ten years ago, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan raised concerns about the continued threat of lead in tap water. A decade later, President Joe Biden has set a 10-year deadline for the replacement of lead pipes in all American cities, starting three years from now, with the aim of ensuring the safety of drinking water for all Americans.
President Biden is expected to announce the final regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Wisconsin, a swing state, on Tuesday. The new regulations will replace the lenient standards set by the Trump administration and focus on addressing the issue of drinking water safety, a priority during Vice President Kamala Harris’s tenure and presidential campaign.
Michael Regan, Administrator of the EPA, told reporters on Monday that Biden and Harris see ensuring access to clean drinking water for everyone as a moral responsibility. He stated, “We know that over 9 million outdated lead pipes are still delivering water to households across the country, but for decades, science has clearly shown that the levels of lead in our drinking water do not meet safety standards.”
Lead, a heavy metal used in pipes, paint, ammunition, and many other products, is a neurotoxin that can lead to a range of health issues from behavioral problems to brain damage. Lead exposure can lower children’s IQ, hinder their development, and increase adult blood pressure.
This is the largest revision of drinking water standards in nearly thirty years.
The EPA estimates that the stricter standards will prevent up to 900,000 low birth weight babies annually and avoid 1,500 premature deaths due to heart disease.
The new regulations are stricter than the standards proposed last fall, requiring water systems to ensure lead concentrations do not exceed 10 parts per billion (ppb) as an “action level,” lower than the current standard of 15 ppb. If high lead levels are detected, water systems must inform the public about ways to protect health, including using water filters, taking action to reduce lead exposure, and working to replace all lead pipes.
Lead pipes often have a significant impact on low-income urban areas. They are commonly found in older industrial areas in cities like Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Detroit, and Milwaukee. Biden will announce the new standards in these cities on Tuesday.
The new regulations also modify the method of measuring lead levels, potentially increasing the number of cities and water systems exceeding lead limits.
To assist communities in compliance with the regulations, the EPA is allocating an additional $2.6 billion for drinking water infrastructure through a bipartisan infrastructure bill. The agency is also providing $35 million in competitive grants for projects aimed at reducing lead levels in drinking water.
The 10-year deadline will begin in three years to allow water companies time to prepare. Cities with a larger number of lead pipes may receive extended deadlines to meet the new standards.
Biden will make this announcement in Milwaukee, a city that ranks fifth in the nation for the number of lead pipes. City officials are utilizing funds provided by the federal infrastructure bill to expedite the replacement of lead pipes and aim to complete the replacements within ten years, down from the initial goal of 60 years.
Removing lead pipes can greatly reduce the risk of water contamination and crises. In Flint, a change in the city’s water source over a decade ago made it more corrosive, leading to a spike in lead levels in tap water. Flint is one of the most prominent examples of cities with persistently high lead levels, along with Newark in New Jersey, Benton Harbor in Michigan, and Washington, D.C.
The EPA established regulations for lead and copper levels in drinking water over 30 years ago. While these regulations significantly reduced lead levels in tap water, there were loopholes that left some cities struggling to address high lead levels.
Before the official announcement, Erik Olson, a health and food expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, made a general comment on the EPA’s lead pipe replacement efforts, stating that “this move will be widely supported as no one wants to drink lead-contaminated tap water or use lead straws to drink water, but millions of people are currently doing so.”
In reality, excavating lead pipes from underground will pose a significant challenge. The infrastructure bill approved in 2021 provides $15 billion to help cities replace lead pipes, but the total cost will be several times higher.
Additionally, the Biden administration has proposed stringent new drinking water standards for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), known as forever chemicals. These standards will also improve public health, despite costing billions of dollars.
The industry organization American Water Works Association supports the EPA’s goals in the proposed regulations but warns that the costs may be excessive.
Another obstacle is identifying the locations of lead pipes, as many cities lack accurate records of where lead pipes are located. Preliminary pipe inspections will be completed this month, with many cities admitting they do not even know what materials their pipes are made of.
(Reference from the Associated Press)