The Problem
All families deserve drinking water that isn’t harmful to their health.
From rural towns to large cities, an estimated 9 million homes and businesses across the U.S. still get their water from lead service lines, exposing millions of children and adults to the harmful health impacts caused by lead.
What are the health impacts of lead?
There is no safe level of lead exposure. The long-term effects of lead exposure can ripple through your community, impacting educational outcomes and workforce productivity, while increasing costs related to healthcare and other social services. Even at low levels, lead can impair children’s normal brain development, contributing to:
- Reading and learning disabilities
- Reduced IQs
- Shortened attention span
- Other cognitive and behavioral problems
In adults, lead exposure increases the risk of hypertension and premature death from heart disease and is also a major risk factor for preeclampsia during pregnancy.
The health impacts of lead can disproportionately affect low-income communities living in older cities and towns due to a variety of sources, including peeling old paint and the dust it generates, contaminated soil, and drinking water.
How does lead get into drinking water?
Lead rarely comes from source water or from treated water. Instead, lead typically leaches into water from water service lines made of lead, from internal (premise) plumbing that contains lead (such as brass fixtures or fittings with leaded material), or from lead connectors (such as goosenecks and pigtails).
Lead can enter drinking water when pipes, connectors, and premise plumbing fixtures that contain lead corrode. This can happen especially where the water is highly acidic, contains low mineral content, or if the water has remained stagnant in the pipes for long periods of time. Though the installation of new leaded plumbing was federally banned in 1986 and there are chemical treatments (called corrosion control) to reduce the risk of corrosion and leaching, there was no requirement to remove the leaded plumbing already in place until more recently.
The lead service line, which connects the water main to a home or building, is considered the largest source of lead in drinking water. Lead service lines can unpredictably release lead into drinking water and therefore always pose a risk, even in communities with water treatment to reduce corrosion.
Many communities have shared ownership of service lines, typically divided between the water utility and homeowner based on the property boundary. This can lead to the harmful practice of partial replacements, which can increase lead levels in drinking water.
Are there lead pipes in your community?
Your water utility may already be working to address lead service lines in your community. Check out this map featuring over 250 communities that have posted public information on their replacement program. The map also provides EPA’s estimate of the total lead service lines in your state—giving you a general sense of the scope of the issue.
If you don’t see your community on the map, reach out to your water utility or municipality to find out about their plan. They have likely completed an initial inventory of all service lines and their material types, which was required to be submitted to states on October 16, 2024. This inventory can be a great tool to help you understand where lead service lines are in your community.
What are the current requirements?
Water systems are required to monitor lead and copper levels in drinking water through the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) which was first promulgated in 1991. This is the foundation from which your water utility is working.
EPA has recently issued two significant changes to the original 1991 Lead and Copper Rule:
- In January 2021, EPA issued the final version of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), portions of which became effective on October 16, 2024. Specifically, water systems are required to develop an inventory of where lead service lines are located and send notifications to residents and local public health
- In October 2024, EPA finalized the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). The rule adds several more protective requirements:
- Establishes a 10-year deadline for most water utilities to replace lead service lines and galvanized lines that are or have been ever downstream of a lead (defined to include galvanized lines that are or have ever been downstream of a lead), and relaxes corrosion control water treatment requirements
- Mandates full lead service line replacement and strictly limits partial replacements
- Lowers the action level from 15 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb of lead in water, triggering more aggressive action based on water sampling
As of 2024, there are several states that have enacted laws around LSL replacement that build on federal laws.
- Illinois, Michigan, Rhode Island, and New Jersey have all mandated 100% replacement
- Minnesota has legislation mandating a 10-year timeline, with state funding available and a state inventory online
- Indiana passed legislation supporting lead service line replacement, including allowing tenants to provide utility access (limited to utilities regulated by state’s utilities commission)
- New York has legislation ensuring transparency on inventories
- Pennsylvania has legislation that accelerates and facilitates replacements on private property
- Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to establish a dedicated program to fund lead service line replacement with its federal funds, and more recently, established a $4 million Lead Service Line Replacement Community Outreach Grant Program that will provide financial assistance for community outreach efforts associated with lead service line replacement
If you are in one of these states, contact your water utility to learn more about the specifics around these state laws, available state funding, and programs.