New Biden rule means healthier water for Black communities

EPA mandates water companies nationwide dig up and replace lead pipes

Lead-contaminated drinking water is a long-known health hazard that can cause developmental problems in children and health issues in adults. But many households still get their drinking water from utilities that use lead pipes — especially in Black communities.

A decade after the Flint, Michigan water crisis made national headlines, the Biden administration finalized a landmark rule on Tuesday requiring water utilities nationwide to locate and replace all lead pipes in their infrastructure systems by 2034.

Speaking at a public works field office in Milwaukee, President Joe Biden called the new rule an overdue environmental justice win for underserved communities, which he said had “borne the brunt of lead poisoning for damn too long.”

The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements addresses what is widely known as a major public health threat that is particularly dangerous to infants and children. Lead exposure in public drinking water is a longstanding issue that has disproportionately affected the nation’s Black communities for decades.

Black neighborhoods prioritized

Along with the new rule, the EPA announced $2.6 billion in newly available drinking water infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These funds will support lead pipe replacement and inventory projects, and 49% of the funding must go to disadvantaged communities as grants that do not need to be repaid.

The issue exploded 10 years ago when it was revealed that the entire population of Flint, a predominantly Black city, had been drinking water from the Flint River pumped through lead pipes. The scandal erupted when scores of residents complained that the foul-smelling, discolored water was causing skin rashes, hair loss, and itchy skin.

The issue has still not been fully resolved. Two years later, authorities found record levels of lead in the drinking water of schools in Newark, N.J.

Melissa Mays, operations manager of Flint Rising, a nonprofit advocacy organization, applauded the new rule in a statement for the National Resources Defense Council.

“Ten years ago, the drinking water in my hometown of Flint, Michigan was contaminated by lead because there were no strong state or federal laws and no enforcement to protect our water or our people,” she said. “My community has pushed to reform the federal lead rule so the water crisis that damaged Flint would not happen to any other city or town.” 

“Today’s announcement is not perfect,” Mays said, “but it’s a big step in the right direction.” 

Long-known health hazard

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a prepared statement that Biden “is putting an end to this generational public health problem.

“We’ve known for decades that lead exposure has serious long-term impacts for children’s health,” he said. “And yet, millions of lead service lines are still delivering drinking water to homes.”

Lead is a neurotoxin that is dangerous in even the smallest quantities. The effects of lead exposure are especially harmful to children younger than six years old and include irreversible brain and nervous system damage. Lead exposure also severely affects mental and physical development, learning and behavior problems, decreased attention span, and low academic achievement. 

Physical harms from lead usually continue into adulthood and include kidney damage, digestive problems, high blood pressure, reproductive health issues, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Adult exposure to lead is also harmful and long-lasting and can cause joint and muscle pain, high blood pressure, and hearing and vision damage.

Service lines that bring water into homes have been found to be a major source of lead exposure. More than nine million homes across the U.S. receive drinking water through a lead pipe, according to the EPA. 

Scientific approach

“The Environmental Protection Agency followed a science-based process to set new limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act that will protect Americans—particularly children—from the harmful impacts of lead and copper on human health,” says Juliet Christian-Smith, Western states regional director at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “In addition, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides communities essential funding to replace old pipes that are the source of much of the lead in our water systems.” 

In 2022, NRDC and its partners and 10 State Attorneys General sued EPA because of what it called inadequate rules the Trump administration had issued in 2020. The EPA agreed to scrap the previous rule and proposed these new lead standards in 2023.

“Lead-contaminated tap water has harmed the health and welfare of generations of our children. The EPA’s action today is a leap forward in protecting the health of tens of millions of Americans from this scourge,” said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at NRDC. “It’s been 10 years since Flint’s water crisis jolted the nation into realizing that lead contamination is lurking in the tap water across America. It’s because of the tireless work of community leaders in Flint, Newark, and beyond that we got today’s strong standards.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president this November, has also called for replacing lead pipes, an issue especially important for underserved communities.

Jennifer Porter Gore is a writer living in the Washington, D.C. area.