U.S. Seeks To Remove Lead Pipes Nationwide

"The Biden administration wants to require utilities to replace all lead drinking-water pipes across the U.S. within the next 10 years, the biggest push in decades by the federal government to eliminate lead from the nation's tap water.

The Environmental Protection Agency made that proposal public Thursday, as part of a series of regulatory changes involving lead in drinking water. 

More than nine million households receive water through lead service lines, the agency said.

The agency said the move is needed to protect public health and pegged the replacement costs at between $2.1 billion and $3.6 billion annually over the next decade. It measured those costs against the benefits of avoiding lost IQ points in children and deaths and illnesses, which the agency valued at up to 10 times as great.

"Getting the lead out means healthier children and healthier adults. It means less hospital visits and lower healthcare costs," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

The administration allocated $15 billion for replacing lead pipes in the infrastructure legislation passed in 2021. But some estimates have put the total cost much higher.

David LaFrance, CEO of the American Water Works Association, a trade group, said the total cost could "easily exceed" $90 billion. He said the average cost to replace a single lead service line is more than $10,000, nearly double the EPA's estimate.

Matthew Holmes, CEO of the National Rural Water Association, which represents more than 30,000 water systems, said utilities support the goal of removing lead pipes but that it was unclear how much future federal funding would be available beyond the $15 billion that already has been allocated.

"Over time, some of that burden is going to have to be passed on to the ratepayers unless Congress continues to make grant funding available," he said.

Environmental groups and others have been pushing the agency for years to strengthen regulations in the federal Lead and Copper Rule, the 1991 regulation that requires utilities to reduce lead in drinking water.

Cities have been slow to make progress on replacing pipes, despite growing awareness of the risks from lead from high-profile contamination cases in cities such as Flint, Mich., and Newark, N.J.

The EPA said it estimates that a 10-year replacement deadline is feasible for 96% to 99% of water systems, but that some systems that need to replace a large number of pipes might qualify for an extension." [1]

Look, Juozai, they want to be healthier, they are withdrawing from Ukraine and taking care of themselves at home. And we in Vilnius only want to shoot at our neighbors. Why are we so stupid? Maybe there is too much lead in our water?

1. U.S. News: U.S. Seeks To Remove Lead Pipes Nationwide. Maher, Kris.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 01 Dec 2023: A.2.