Growing up in Chicago, Chakena D. Perry was aware of the longstanding distrust surrounding tap water in her community.
“It was just one of these unspoken truths within households like mine — low-income, Black households — that there was some sort of distrust with the water,” said Perry, who later learned that Chicago holds the unfortunate distinction of having the most lead service lines in the country.
“It was something we never openly discussed, but we always avoided using our tap for drinking water.”
Now serving as a senior policy advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Perry is actively involved in a coalition advocating for expedited actions to remove lead pipes across the country.
In a pivotal moment for water safety, last year saw a significant victory when the Biden-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated all water systems nationwide to start replacing their lead service lines by 2027.
Under this new rule, Chicago has a timeline of approximately 20 years to replace its estimated 412,000 lead service lines, presenting the city with its most aggressive deadline for addressing this public health crisis to date.
Lead is known to be particularly detrimental to children, affecting their developing brains and leading to various serious health issues in adults.
However, recent reports indicate that Chicago is poised to fall 30 years behind the federal timeline, as the city’s replacement plan submitted to the Illinois EPA in April aims to complete only 8,300 replacements annually over a sprawling 50-year span, concluding in 2076.
The federal rule, in stark contrast, requires Chicago to replace nearly 20,000 pipes each year starting in 2027, more than double the current pace outlined in the city’s existing plan, which aligns with a more permissive state law.
City officials are aware of the new federal mandates but have yet to revise their plans accordingly.
The corrosion of lead pipes poses a grave risk, as these toxic materials can leach into water, potentially poisoning residents without their knowledge.
A recent study underscores the severity of the issue, revealing that two-thirds of Chicago children under six live in homes with tap water that contains detectable levels of lead.
Moreover, the compounding effects of climate change may further increase the risk of lead contamination, as rising temperatures can cause more lead to leach from the pipes into the drinking water.
Extensive research indicates that instances of childhood lead poisoning tend to rise during hotter periods.
For Perry, the prospect of a 20-year timeline for lead pipe replacement is still a compromise.
“People are already being exposed — they’re being exposed daily,” she remarked.
“There is no number [of years] that is satisfactory to me, but 20-ish years is better than 50.”
The drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., and similar challenges faced in Washington, D.C., have thrust the national public health threat of lead exposure into the spotlight.
Currently, an estimated 9 million lead service lines need replacement across the nation to meet the new requirements, including about 1 million in Illinois, the highest number in the country.
Among the five U.S. cities identified as having the most lead pipes — Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Detroit, and Milwaukee — only Chicago has not yet accepted the latest federal timeline.
In comparison, the other cities plan to eliminate their lead pipes within a decade of 2027.
Experts emphasize that there is no safe level of lead exposure.
According to the EPA, its new regulations could prevent up to 900,000 cases of low birth weight and 1,500 instances of premature death from heart disease annually.
Furthermore, analysis from the Metropolitan Planning Council in Illinois shows that communities of color are nearly twice as likely as white communities to be burdened by lead service lines.
Faced with a daunting task, Chicago has only managed to replace a total of 7,923 lead service lines over the past four years, averaging around 2,000 per year, with most replacements occurring alongside other repairs and service jobs.
Megan Vidis, a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Water Management, stated that the city anticipates reaching 8,000 replacements this year.
“We have been and will continue to move as quickly as resources allow to replace lead service lines,” wrote Vidis in an email.
“We need substantial additional funding.”
In light of the city’s financial challenges, Erik D. Olson, a senior strategic director for environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council and Perry’s colleague, argues that these economic hurdles should motivate Chicago to adopt a more ambitious replacement plan.
He highlighted that $15 billion in federal funds designated for lead service line replacements, stemming from a bipartisan infrastructure law, will expire next year.
“If Chicago isn’t beating down the doors to get that money, that is tragic, because that money could evaporate,” Olson emphasized.
“It’s crucial for the city to speed up its service line replacement efforts to capitalize on this funding.”
Although Perry now resides in Oak Forest, a suburb south of Chicago, she still owns her mother’s home on the South Side of Chicago, which has a lead service line that remains unreplaced.
She expressed concern, saying, “The city has a responsibility to the residents in the city of Chicago to protect them at all costs.
There’s no price that’s too high to pay for safe drinking water.”
Navigating the shifting landscape of state and federal regulations poses challenges for Chicago.
The current EPA rule, enacted at the end of President Joe Biden’s term, mandates that many systems nationwide complete lead service line replacements by 2038.
Chicago, along with other cities with high proportions of lead service lines, has until mid-2049 to meet this requirement.
According to the city’s plan, officials assert they will comply with the federal rule “if the regulations go into effect.”
However, on a national level, the new regulations are already in effect, as clarified by Earthjustice’s Marissa Lieberman-Klein, and the EPA does not need to issue further documents for these timelines to be considered valid.
It appears that city officials may be hesitant to fully commit to these requirements, speculating that future administrations could roll back regulations instituted by prior administrations.
Lieberman-Klein noted, “It’s possible that Chicago is just looking at what this administration has generally communicated regarding rules from the previous administration, and they’re thinking of taking a wait-and-see approach.”
Earlier this year, some congressional Republicans attempted to revoke the lead pipe replacement rule but missed the deadline to do so.
Additionally, the American Water Works Association has challenged the rule in court, claiming its stipulations are not practical.
While environmental groups defend the regulations, the uncertain outcome of ongoing litigation adds to the confusion.
U.S. EPA spokesperson David Shark refrained from addressing specific questions about Illinois’ obligations before the requirements commence in 2027, citing the ongoing legal challenges surrounding the rule.
In the meantime, Kim Biggs, a spokesperson for the Illinois EPA, stated that until 2027, the state operates under the requirements of the previous 2021 EPA rule and the existing state laws.
Amidst these conditions, the pressing question remains: How will Chicago finance the urgent need to eliminate lead service lines?
Recent reports indicate that the average cost of replacing each service line in Chicago is approximately $35,000.
While officials aim to reduce costs by replacing multiple service lines in blocks simultaneously, the current average significantly exceeds national estimations, which range from $4,700 to $12,000 per line.
Despite these financial challenges, the proposed cuts to federal funding further complicate the situation.
Under the Trump administration’s proposal for the next fiscal year, the EPA’s budget faces potential reductions of over 50%.
This includes drastic cuts to nearly all funding for low-interest loan programs that states depend on for upgrading water infrastructure.
As the city grapples with these pressing issues, it remains to be seen how Chicago will mobilize the necessary resources to prioritize the urgent replacement of lead service lines, addressing a critical public health concern for its residents.
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