This spring, Beatriz Salazar of Chicago’s Southeast Side received a troubling letter from the city, warning her that her drinking water was delivered through a toxic lead pipe.
The letter, sent to residents in 10 different languages, included crucial information on how to reduce exposure, links to programs offering assistance in replacing the hazardous pipe, and a diagram demonstrating how lead can leak into tap water from the service line and plumbing infrastructure.
Salazar, a housing counselor and mother of two, was shocked to learn the implications. “Lead? We’ve been drinking lead for how long?”
Several of her friends and family received the same warning, including her mother-in-law. However, not everyone was informed. Salazar’s mother, 74-year-old Salome Fabela, lived just a few blocks away but had not yet received any notification.
According to a federal drinking water rule, Chicago was mandated to warn approximately 900,000 renters, homeowners, and landlords—specifically those whose properties were built before 1986, the year lead pipes were banned nationwide—by November 16, 2024.
However, by early July, only 7% of those residents had been reached, raising concerns regarding the city’s compliance and the health of its communities.
Chicago officials acknowledged that only about 62,000 out of the 900,000 required notifications had been sent. Meanwhile, Fabela’s home is confirmed to have a lead service line, suggesting she was among those who should have been alerted, yet she had received no information.
Megan Vidis, a spokesperson for the Department of Water Management, estimated that the city sends about 3,000 letters each week, at a monthly cost of approximately $8,500. Advocates for safe drinking water express serious concerns that delayed notifications threaten to leave vulnerable communities unaware of potential health risks.
This concern is especially poignant given recent studies revealing that two-thirds of Chicago children under the age of six reside in homes with detectable levels of lead in their tap water.
Vidis indicated that the city had requested an extension from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to complete notifications but had not been granted more time. She estimated that the first round of notifications wouldn’t be finished until 2027. Electronic notifications are expected by the end of the year.
The state environmental officials have noted that water systems failing to certify the completion of the warning requirement by July 1 would receive public reporting violations.
With around 412,000 of approximately 490,000 service lines in Chicago being composed partly of lead, the city has a significant challenge ahead. It has delayed plans to replace these dangerous pipes for another five decades, thirty years longer than what the federal government requires.
The risk associated with these lead pipes could be exacerbated by climate change, as rising temperatures can lead to increased lead dissolution into drinking water. Lead contamination can occur from various plumbing fixtures, including service lines, faucets, valves, and internal plumbing.
Given the extensive presence of lead pipes in Chicago, timely warnings to residents are critical.
Elin Betanzo, founder of Safe Water Engineering, noted that this is the first time that water utilities are legally obligated to inform the public about receiving water via lead pipes. Betanzo had previously played a key role in exposing the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which recently celebrated significant progress in replacing lead service lines.
In its efforts to keep residents informed, Chicago has developed an online tool through which homeowners can check whether their homes built before 1986 are likely to have lead service lines. The city encourages residents to test their water by reaching out to 311 for a free lead test kit, although the program faced temporary maintenance issues in May and is currently backlogged, leaving some residents waiting months for results.
Chicago’s notification struggle stands out among the ten U.S. cities with the most lead service lines. Unlike Chicago, cities like Cleveland and Detroit have already notified substantial portions of their populations, with around 200,000 notifications sent in Cleveland and 124,000 in Detroit just this year.
As of early July, only a fraction of Chicago residents had received their warnings, and in some instances, notifications directed residents to broken links.
In stark contrast, Milwaukee successfully dispatched over 100,000 letters in a single day, emphasizing the urgency of these notifications.
Betanzo criticized Chicago’s slow pace, stating, “People are not getting the information they need to protect themselves. That’s not OK.”
The daunting task of replacing lead service lines is compounded by the fact that many are partially owned by private residents, necessitating homeowner approval for replacements. The city’s replacement plan emphasizes the importance of notifying homeowners of the risks to foster cooperation in line replacements.
Suzanne Novak, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, expressed concern that the city is not taking its responsibilities seriously, claiming, “They are brazenly violating the law.” She urged that immediate action is essential and called upon the state of Illinois and the EPA to hold Chicago accountable for its non-compliance.
Beyond notifying residents with confirmed lead service lines, the EPA mandates water systems to notify residents in cases where the service line is made of galvanized steel, which contains lead, and in circumstances where the material of the service line is unknown.
Thus far, Chicago has only begun sending notifications to residences with verified lead service lines.
The city is prioritizing notifications based on geography and home type. As of early July, notifications focused on homes within fifteen wards, primarily in lower-income areas. The strategy particularly emphasizes single-family homes, which are more likely to endure severe lead contamination due to lower water usage, causing more water stagnation.
Salazar and her mother, both residents of a priority neighborhood, still have not received any warning letters despite Salazar living in a single-family home.
Vidis explained that Fabela has not yet received a warning because the city’s records denote her service line as galvanized steel. However, she assured that notification for Fabela would be sent this year, without specifying a timeline.
Salazar expressed her frustrations, stating, “They should have done something to inform us faster. I think they’ve known this, and they’re just now informing us.”
Advocacy efforts against lead contamination in drinking water are gaining attention, particularly in communities that face extraordinary pollution levels and health-related issues linked to toxic exposures. Vanessa Bly, a co-founder of Bridges//Puentes: Justice Collective of the Southeast, has been actively engaged in efforts to raise awareness about the dangers posed by lead in drinking water.
Since 2022, Bly has collaborated with a Northwestern University laboratory to develop rapid at-home lead testing. She has worked directly with residents, including Salazar and Fabela, providing troubleshooting for these experimental test kits in the Southeast Side neighborhood where they reside, a predominantly Black and Latino community affected by health disparities.
Many individuals in the community are left in the dark regarding the quality of their drinking water despite ongoing advocacy and outreach efforts. Bly lamented the lack of communication, asking, “Is it so hard to have a commercial campaign to talk about it?”
For some residents, longstanding concerns about water quality have prompted precautionary actions. Salazar and her family drink bottled water at home and keep a filter in the refrigerator. Fabela, on the other hand, has filtered her water for nearly 25 years, first using a filter system directly attached to her tap and now utilizing a handheld pitcher.
Examining Chicago’s lead service line replacement options at her mother’s kitchen table, Salazar discovered that she does not qualify for the city’s equity program, which covers costs for homeowners who earn below 80% of the area median income.
While the city is working to secure additional funding to assist more homeowners, there is no clear timeline provided on when Salazar’s service line might be replaced. With repair costs estimated at $30,000, she currently intends to continue filtering her water in the interim.
Deeply concerned about the delay in notifications and the potential health risks, Salazar questioned, “How long have they known? And why did it take them so long to inform us?”
image source from：wbez
