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Dive brief:
- The EPA proposed new restrictions Thursday that would require replacement of virtually all lead water pipes in the US, according to a press release from the White House. The goal is to remove the neurotoxin from drinking water and prevent another public health catastrophe like the one that occurred in Flint, Michigan.
- Under the proposal, utilities must completely replace lead pipes over the next decade at a rate of 10 percent each year and must create inventories of all their lead pipes. The agency will accept public comments on the proposal for 60 days and will finalize the rule sometime next year.
- The plan would affect about 9 million pipelines across the country, and could cost between $20 billion and $30 billion, according to The New York Times. It represents the strictest limit on lead in drinking water, but it would not ban it entirely: rather, it would reduce the amount allowed to 10 parts per billion from the current 15 parts per billion.
Diving knowledge:
Dallas-based contractor bosses AECOM i Jacobsbased in Montreal WSP and other large construction companies have identified water projects as a growing market. Beyond pipe replacement, resiliency, flood, stormwater, and other climate change-related water work are booming, driven by IIJA and other federal spending.
The Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act designates $15 billion to help utilities pay for upgrades along with $11.7 billion in general purpose funding through the State Drinking Water Revolving Fund that can be used to the replacement of lead pipes, according to the release. Funding from the American Rescue Plan’s $350 billion state and local tax recovery fund can also be used to replace lead service lines and repair lead paint.
EPA’s lead pipe proposal advances the Action plan for pipes and lead paintthe Biden administration’s multi-agency push to reduce all sources of lead exposure.
There is no safe level of lead exposure, especially for children, according to the World Health Organization. It can cause irreversible brain and nervous system damage, learning and behavioral problems, growth problems and slow development.
New proposed improvements to the lead and copper rules also increase tap water sampling requirements, require water systems to complete comprehensive and publicly available inventories of lead service lines, and strengthen requirements that water systems to take additional actions to reduce the health risks of lead, according to the White House press release. .
