Ten years after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis raised concerns about the continued threat of lead in tap water, Joe Biden has proposed a 10-year limit for cities across the country to replace their lead pipes, completing an aggressive process that aims to ensure drinking water is safe for all Americans.
It is expected that the president will announce the final legislation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday in the state of Wisconsin in the last month of the presidential campaign. The ad highlights an issue – safe drinking water – that Kamala Harris prioritized as vice-president and during her presidential campaign. The new law replaces a strict standard set by former President Donald Trump’s administration that does not include a general requirement to replace pipes.
Biden and Harris believe it is “very important” to make sure everyone has access to clean drinking water, EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters Monday. “We know that there are more than 9m lead pipes that continue to deliver water to homes across the country. But the science has been clear for years: there is no safe level of lead in our drinking water.
The legislation is the most drastic change to lead-in-water standards in nearly three decades. Lead, a heavy metal used in pipes, paint, bullets and many other products, is a neurotoxin that can cause a wide range of health problems. behavior in brain damage. Lead lowers IQ scores in children, stunts their development and increases high blood pressure in adults.
The EPA estimates that the strict guidelines will prevent up to 900,000 babies from having a low birth weight and avoid reaching to 1,500 premature deaths a year from heart disease.
The new regulation is stricter than the one proposed last fall and requires water systems to ensure that lead levels do not exceed an “action level” of 10 parts in per billion (ppb), from 15ppb below the current level. If the water level is found to be high, the public should be informed about ways to protect their health, including using the four water sources. clean the water, and take action to reduce lead while working together to replace all the pipes.
Lead pipes mostly affect low-income urban areas. They are often found in older, industrialized areas of the country, including major cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Detroit and Milwaukee, where Biden will announce positions on Tuesday.
The new law also revises the way lead is measured, which could expand the number of cities and waters that have high levels of lead, the EPA said. .
To help communities comply, the agency is making an additional $2.6bn available for drinking water through the capital works act. The agency is also providing $35 million in matching funds for programs to reduce lead in drinking water.
The 10-year period will not start for three years, to give the water time to prepare. The limited number of cities with large lead pipelines can provide a long time to meet the new standard.
Biden will make the announcement in Milwaukee, a city with the fifth-highest number of lead pipes in the country, according to the EPA. Officials are using funds from the federal law to speed up pipeline replacement projects and meet the goal of removing all pipelines within 10 years, from under the first 60 years.
Lead pipes can corrode and contaminate drinking water; specific removal reduces the chance of an accident. In Flint, a change to the city’s drinking water source more than a decade ago made it more corrosive, increasing lead levels in the tap water. Flint is the top example among many cities that have struggled with lead levels, including Newark, New Jersey, Benton Harbor, Michigan and Washington DC.
after the press release
The first lead and copper rule for drinking water was enacted by the EPA more than 30 years ago. Laws have greatly reduced lead in tap water but have included restrictions that allow cities to take action when lead levels are high.
“I think there is public support for doing this. No one wants to drink lead-tainted tap water or sip their water from a straw, so that’s what’s being done.” not millions of people today,” said Erik Olson, a health and nutrition expert at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, speaking broadly about the EPA’s efforts to replace the pipeline. leading up to the official announcement.
The reality is that getting lead pipes out of the ground is a huge challenge. The development law approved in 2021 provided $15bn to help cities replace their pipes, but the total cost will increase significantly. The demand also comes as the Biden administration issues new drinking water standards for persistent chemicals called PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These standards will improve public health at a cost of billions of dollars.
The American Water Works Association, a trade group, said when the legislation was announced that it supports the EPA’s goals, but warned that it could be expensive.
Another challenge was finding the lead pipes. Many cities do not have accurate records to describe their location. This month the first pipeline list will be set, and many towns have said they don’t know what their pipelines are made of.
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