On Thursday local time, the Biden administration put another expensive infrastructure project on the table - spending tens of billions of dollars to replace lead-containing water pipes across the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Thursday thatWater systems across the United States will be required to replace lead-containing drinking water lines within the next 10 years. The agency said the cost of replacing water pipes over the next decade will be approximately $2.1 to $3.6 billion per year. By comparison, the economic cost of children's IQ damage and health problems associated with lead-containing drinking water may be ten times greater.


(Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

Health and financial issues across the ages

Michael Regan, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said lead-containing drinking water is a public health problem that spans the ages. Today’s EPA proposal will accelerate President Biden’s goal of fully replacing all lead pipes in the United States.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emphasizes that scientific research shows thatThere simply is no safe "lead exposure level" in drinking water. In children, ingesting lead can severely impair intellectual and physical development. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function and cancer.

Of course, “replacing all lead pipes” is also a heavy financial issue—otherwise it wouldn’t be possible to delay it for decades. In the "Infrastructure Bill" passed in 2021, there is a special$15 billion is spent on replacing lead pipes. However, some industry associations have also stated that the actual cost of completing this infrastructure plan will be twice that expected by the Environmental Protection Agency, and may even reach$50 billion.

Matthew Holmes, CEO of the American Rural Water Association, said utilities support the government's goal of replacing lead pipes, but it is unclear whether there will be additional funding from the federal government after the $15 billion is spent. Because if Congress doesn't approve more funding, the burden of the project will ultimately fall on end users.

Another example is the city of Chicago,The local government had expected that it would cost $10 billion to completely replace the city's 400,000 lead pipes. In early November this year, the city received a $336 million loan from the Environmental Protection Agency to replace 30,000 lead pipes.

Water pipes aren’t the only source of lead exposure

Regarding the "new water pipe replacement rules", the EPA is expected to hold an online hearing in January next year and will accept public comments within 60 days after the rules are published in the Federal Register.

In addition to replacing water pipes, the EPA will require utility companies to lower the lead content threshold in water supplies from 15 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms per liter. Companies that repeatedly exceed this threshold will be required to provide filtration equipment to households that use water. The rule also requires utility companies to provide inventories of all lead pipes and conduct additional sampling and inspections from household taps.

However, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s own research,Drinking water accounts for only about 20% of Americans' lead exposure sources. People may also be exposed to lead through various channels such as print, air, soil and food. In the early years, media investigations revealed that telecommunications cables throughout the United States were constantly leaking lead into the environment.