Beatriz Salazar received an unexpected letter from the city of Chicago this spring.
Inside was a dire warning: her drinking water was delivered through a toxic lead pipe.
The letter, printed in 10 different languages, outlined the health risks associated with lead exposure, including serious conditions like brain and kidney damage.
“Lead?” Salazar thought. “We’ve been drinking lead for how long?”
A housing counselor and lifelong resident of the Southeast Side, Salazar immediately reached out to friends and family.
Curiously, her mother-in-law, who lives nearby, had received the same notice, as did one of her clients.
However, her own mother, 74-year-old Salome Fabela, lived less than 10 blocks away yet had not received any notification.
According to a federal rule on drinking water, Chicago officials are required to warn approximately 900,000 renters, homeowners, and landlords by November 16, 2024, if their drinking water may be contaminated with lead.
These warnings specifically target properties built before 1986, the year lead service lines were banned nationwide.
As of early July, Chicago had only notified 7% of the concerned population, which reflects a significant and troubling oversight.
Fabela’s home is connected to a lead service line, but she is among the vast majority of individuals still waiting for the critical notice.
The ongoing notifications are mandated under federal law, which states that such warnings must be mailed annually until all lead pipes are eliminated.
Megan Vidis, a spokesperson for the Department of Water Management, stated that Chicago is currently sending out about 3,000 letters weekly, costing the city approximately $8,500 a month.
Advocates argue that delayed notifications are particularly harmful to already vulnerable communities.
A study from last year revealed that two-thirds of Chicago children under the age of six live in homes with detectable levels of lead in their tap water.
Despite asking the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for an extension, Chicago officials have yet to receive any such allowance.
Vidis estimated that the city may not complete its necessary notifications until 2027, though electronic notifications are expected by the end of this year.
State officials have indicated that water systems failing to meet the deadline could face reporting violations, which they must publicly disclose.
The presence of lead pipes is a considerable health threat ongoing across America, particularly in older homes and buildings.
Chicago is uniquely reliant on lead infrastructure, with around 412,000 out of approximately 490,000 service lines possessing lead or potential lead contamination.
Alarmingly, the city does not anticipate completing replacements of these lines for another five decades, which would be 30 years past the federal requirement.
Additionally, climate change complicates the situation, as rising temperatures can increase the amount of lead leaching into drinking water.
Service lines transport water from the street into homes and buildings and are just one component that can introduce lead into drinking water.
Timely notifications are essential as lead poses a significant health risk.
Historically, water utilities have not been required to inform the public about lead presence in drinking water, which makes Chicago’s delayed notifications all the more concerning.
Elin Betanzo, founder of Safe Water Engineering and a key figure in exposing the Flint water crisis, emphasized the vital nature of timely communication regarding water safety.
The city of Chicago has created an online tool allowing residents to check if their homes built before 1986 likely have a lead service line.
Additionally, residents are encouraged to test their water by calling 311 to request a free lead test kit, although this program has faced challenges and delays.
In fact, the testing program was reported to be unable to conduct tests in May due to maintenance issues and is currently backlogged, with delays for results stretching months or even years.
Among the ten cities with the highest amounts of lead service lines, Chicago stands alone in not completing its notification process.
Cleveland and Detroit reported around 200,000 notices sent out by the end of last November, while other cities like Milwaukee and St. Louis have exceeded 100,000 notifications sent each.
In stark contrast, Chicago had mailed only approximately 62,000 of the 900,000 required notices by early July, with many notifications even leading to broken links.
While Chicago struggles to send 3,000 notices a week, Milwaukee has successfully mailed over 100,000 notices in one day, and Detroit has already sent 124,000 this year following its 200,000 notices last year.
Betanzo criticized Chicago’s pace, stating, “People are not getting the information they need to protect themselves. That’s not okay.”
In a challenging scenario, Chicago must deal with the extensive task of replacing hundreds of thousands of lead lines, many of which are privately owned, requiring homeowner consent for replacement.
The city’s service line replacement plan emphasizes that notifying homeowners about the situation is vital for building support for the replacement initiative.
Suzanne Novak, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, expressed concern that the delay indicates Chicago officials are neglecting their responsibilities.
“They are brazenly violating the law,” Novak said. “We not only need them to step up and catch up quickly, but we also need the state of Illinois and EPA to use their powers to hold them accountable for this blatant lack of compliance with the law.”
The EPA mandates that water systems send three notifications to residents: if their line is confirmed to be made of lead, if it’s galvanized steel containing lead, and if the material is unknown.
So far, Chicago has only begun sending letters to homes with confirmed lead service lines.
At present, the city has prioritized notifications based on neighborhood and home type, starting with single-family homes believed to have higher lead contamination risks.
Despite this plan, residents and advocates have noted that not all affected homes have received the critical information.
Salazar and her mother reside in the 10th Ward, which was classified as a priority area, yet Fabela had still not received any notification.
Vidis mentioned that Fabela’s absence of notification is due to records indicating she has a galvanized steel pipe.
While she would receive her notice this year, no specific timeframe was provided.
Frustrated, Salazar stated, “They should have done something to inform us faster. I think they’ve known this, and they’re just now informing us.”
Vanessa Bly, a co-founder of the local advocacy group Bridges//Puentes: Justice Collective of the Southeast, has actively worked since 2022 to increase awareness regarding the dangers associated with lead in drinking water.
Collaborating with a Northwestern University lab, Bly has been developing rapid at-home lead tests to assist homeowners like Salazar and Fabela in testing their water.
The predominantly Black and Latino community of the Southeast Side faces heightened risks associated with pollution and health issues linked to toxic exposure, often experiencing higher rates of chronic diseases and lower life expectancy.
A long-standing history of disinvestment has also bred distrust towards the city’s initiatives.
Bly has encountered many participants in her surveys who have not yet received city notifications about lead in their drinking water.
She remains worried about residents unknowingly drinking unsafe tap water.
“Is it so hard to have a commercial campaign to talk about it?” Bly questioned.
Many residents have long been sceptical about their water quality even if they were unaware of lead presence.
Salazar’s family uses bottled water at home and keeps a filter in the refrigerator, while her mother has filtered her water for nearly 25 years, initially using a tap attachment and now relying on a handheld pitcher.
At Fabela’s kitchen table, Salazar reviewed the city’s options for lead service line replacement.
Unfortunately, Salazar does not qualify for Chicago’s equity program that replaces lines for free for qualifying homeowners.
While the city is seeking funding to support more homeowners, a timeline remains unclear.
With replacement costs around $30,000, Salazar is left with no choice but to continue filtering her water.
Her concerns echo a broader frustration within the community regarding the delay in notifications and the risks posed by lead pipes.
“How long have they known?” Salazar questioned, voicing a sentiment felt by many.
“Why did it take them so long to inform us?”
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco covers climate change and the environment for WBEZ and Grist.
Follow him on X at @__juanpab.
image source from：chicago
