MATTOON — As cities across the country face the herculean task of identifying and replacing all lead pipes in their water systems within a 10-year deadline set by President Joe Biden last week, the work is already underway in central Illinois.
The Environmental Protection Agency's newly adopted rule is intended to ensure safe drinking water for all Americans, Biden said. It replaces a looser standard from former President Donald Trump's administration that did not include a general requirement to replace lead pipes.
More than 9 million lead pipes remain in use across the country, Biden said, even though their dangers have been known for decades.
“Folks, what's the point of government if it can't protect public health?” Biden said during an appearance in Wisconsin, where he made the announcement on Tuesday.
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Communities in Illinois — which has the most lead pipes per capita of any state, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — have already begun identifying all of their lead pipes and making plans to replace them, as required by a state law that went into effect in 2022.
However, the state's Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act called for a much longer timeline, with deadlines ranging from 2042 to 2077, depending on the number of new pipes needed.
While detailed response plans are still in the works for many communities, here is a look at the new rule and what it could mean for central Illinois.
Strongest revision of the guiding rule in decades
Lead is a heavy metal used in paint, ammunition and many products other than pipes. It is a neurotoxin that can cause brain damage, behavioral problems, and a variety of other problems. Lead lowers IQ scores in children, stunts their development and increases blood pressure in adults.
Old lead pipes will be removed from a home in Galesburg in March 2021. Lead can leach into drinking water or flake off from pipes that contain heavy metals.
JOSE M. OSORIO, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The new EPA rule is the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in about three decades. While the original lead and copper drinking water regulations significantly reduced lead levels in tap water, they also contained loopholes that allowed cities to take little action when lead levels rose too high.
The 10-year time frame doesn't begin for another three years, giving water utilities time to prepare. Communities are also supported by the EPA, which has announced plans to provide an additional $2.6 billion for drinking water infrastructure through the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and to award $35 million in competitive grants for programs to reduce lead in drinking water.
The new regulation is stricter than the one proposed last fall. Water systems must ensure that lead concentrations do not exceed an “action limit” of 10 parts per billion, up from the current standard of 15 parts per billion. Water systems with high lead levels must inform the public about ways to protect their health, including the use of water filters, and take steps to reduce lead exposure while working to replace all lead pipes.
Work is already underway, but there is still a lot left
Mattoon Public Works Director David Clark said the city government has been anticipating the new federal requirements for several years and is already working on the effort.
“We’ve replaced lead pipes in new construction,” Clark said.
For example, Clark said the city replaced lead water service pipes downtown because they would be exposed for the installation of new sidewalks, brick boulevards and decorative streetlights from 21st to 14th streets. Work on the final section of this streetscape project, from 16th to 14th Streets, is nearing completion this fall.
In addition, Clark said the city applied for and received a $50,000 grant from the Illinois EPA with the help of the Coles County Regional Planning & Development Commission.
Contractors are working Thursday to install new concrete curbs and sidewalks at the southwest corner of Broadway Avenue and 15th Street in Mattoon. The city has been replacing lead water service lines downtown in recent years while digging them up to install new sidewalks, brick boulevards and decorative streetlights from 21st to 14th Streets.
ROB STROUD, JG-TC
The funding supported an effort that began in April, when the city and commission began mapping the locations of all of Mattoon's major water service lines, a necessary but arduous project in preparation for their replacement.
“There are literally 9,000 lines. That's a lot of data. We hope to have everything collected by the end of the year,” Clark said, adding that about 4,000 lines have been collected so far. Given the enormity of the task, Clark said he was glad the city had a decade to complete the upgrades.
Likewise, work is already underway in Shelbyville to replace lead pipes in the city's water system. As in Mattoon, those efforts begin with an examination of water pipes to determine which ones need replacing, Mayor Jeff Johnson said.
He said the city has applied for and received a grant from the EPA that will cover much of the expected $6 million to $8 million cost.
“We have hired a contractor and they will begin work as soon as they receive the materials,” Johnson said. “It's a job, but when it first came up we started looking at options and trying to get a head start.
“Of course the water is constantly tested for lead and we have never had any issues with lead in the water, but because of this requirement we wanted to go ahead and meet it.”
Sullivan Mayor Mike Mossman said the city has met all current state requirements regarding lead pipes.
Asked what the community would do to comply with the new standards announced by Biden, Mossman said the water system was certified by the Illinois EPA and that agency had not communicated any new requirements as of Friday.
“We did what they asked us to do and we passed and they certified us,” Mossman said. “Unless they ask us to do otherwise, we have received approval from the Illinois EPA.”
Officials in Charleston did not respond to an interview request by press time Friday.
Costs nationwide expected to run into billions
In fact, getting the lead pipes out of the ground will be a huge challenge. The infrastructure bill passed in 2021 included $15 billion to help cities replace their lead pipes, but the overall cost will be many times higher.
The American Water Works Association, which represents water utilities, said it supported the EPA's goals but warned that removing lead pipes “involves cost issues.” Ultimately, the majority of the costs will fall on consumers through higher water bills, said David LaFrance, CEO of AWWA.
Another hurdle is finding the lead pipes. Initial pipe inventories are due this month, and many cities have said they don't know what materials their pipes are made of. Without knowing the locations of the pipes, it's difficult to replace them efficiently, said Eric Schwartz, co-founder of BlueConduit, a company founded in response to the crisis in Flint, Michigan, that helps cities locate their lead pipes .
The requirement also comes as the Biden administration proposes tough new drinking water standards for harmful “forever chemicals” called PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These standards will cost billions of dollars.
Fifteen Republican attorneys general, led by Kris Kobach of Kansas, have criticized the EPA rule as “unworkable, underfunded and unnecessary.” The GOP officials said they were concerned that homeowners in some places would have to pay to replace sections of pipe beneath their property – a requirement that Kobach said Congress had not approved. Billions of dollars in federal grants will help communities replace their pipes, the EPA said, but cost decisions ultimately rest with local utilities.
U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the benefits of the rule far outweigh the costs.
“Everyone wants this tip to get out,” Regan told reporters. “The science has been clear for decades: our drinking water does not contain safe levels of lead.”
The Associated Press, Tribune News Service and Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.
President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Milwaukee about the process of replacing lead service pipes in cities across the country.
Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud
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