In Chicago, Chakena D. Perry’s childhood experience painted a portrait of distrust surrounding tap water, a sentiment shared by many in low-income, Black households.
Chicago is known for having the highest number of lead service lines in the United States, and Perry recalls that her family refrained from using tap water for drinking.
Now serving as a senior policy advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Perry is part of a coalition advocating for more stringent rules aimed at accelerating the removal of lead pipes in cities like Chicago.
A significant achievement emerged in the previous year with the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandating all water systems in the country to replace lead service lines.
While the new federal rule gives most systems a decade for full replacement, Chicago’s implementation may lag, extending more than 20 years into the future starting in 2027.
However, an analysis of the city’s replacement plan, submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in April, reveals Chicago is set to replace its estimated 412,000 lead service lines over a staggering 50-year timeline, completing roughly 8,300 replacements yearly, with completion anticipated by 2076.
This schedule significantly contrasts the federal mandate, which requires Chicago to replace nearly 20,000 pipes annually starting in 2027—over twice the current pace specified in the city’s plan.
Although city officials are cognizant of the new requirements, they have yet to amend their current plans.
Delaying the timeline exposes countless children and adults to dangerous drinking water, a risk that may intensify due to climate change, which can lead to increased lead leaching from corroding pipes.
Perry emphasizes that even a 20-year extension for pipe replacement is still a troubling compromise.
“People are already being exposed—they’re being exposed daily,” Perry remarked.
She added, “There is no number [of years] that is satisfactory to me, but 20-ish years is better than 50.”
Public drinking water crises in Washington, D.C., and Flint, Michigan, have underscored the severe public health risks posed by lead exposure.
Nationwide, approximately 9 million lead service lines need removal as mandated by the new regulations, with around one million located in Illinois alone.
Of the five cities nationwide with the highest concentration of lead pipes—including Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Detroit, and Milwaukee—Chicago is the only one yet to adopt the most recent federal deadline, while its counterparts aim for completion within a decade of 2027.
Lead exposure poses serious health risks, including detrimental effects on brain and nerve function, reproductive health, kidney function, and cardiovascular health, particularly impacting children.
Lead poisoning can significantly hinder brain development, resulting in permanent cognitive disabilities, fatigue, convulsions, and even death.
Experts agree there is no safe threshold for lead exposure, which disproportionately affects communities of color.
The Metropolitan Planning Council’s research shows residents of color are almost twice as likely as white residents to live in areas burdened by lead service lines.
Although there is a three-year grace period under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) enacted by the EPA, Chicago’s timeline still falls short, aiming to commence replacements in 2027 at a pace that is more leisurely than federally recommended.
Marissa Lieberman-Klein, an attorney with Earthjustice specializing in lead in drinking water, expressed confusion over Chicago’s strategy.
“I’m not sure what Chicago is thinking there,” she stated.
Facing a monumental task, Chicago must drastically increase its replacement speed.
The city has previously replaced service lines at a rate of approximately 7,923 over four years.
With the new federal timeline, even a 50-year plan would demand replacing more lines annually than in recent years.
According to Megan Vidis of the Chicago Department of Water Management, the city plans to replace 8,000 lines in the current year.
“Our department has been and will continue to enhance our replacement speed as resources allow,” Vidis noted in her correspondence.
Nonetheless, the feasibility of meeting the current federal requirements is contingent on securing substantial additional funding, especially for private side replacements, as the city follows a split ownership model where homeowners co-own service lines with city authorities.
Erik D. Olson from the NRDC suggests that these financial hurdles highlight the urgent need for Chicago to propose a more ambitious replacement strategy.
He remarks that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocates $15 billion for nationwide lead service line replacements, presents a critical opportunity set to expire next year.
“If Chicago isn’t proactively pursuing these funds, it would be a severe misstep, as the resources could soon be lost,” Olson elaborated.
An EPA spokesperson confirmed that Illinois water systems must now comply with the new requirements, yet further clarifications on obligations before the compliance deadlines are unaddressed due to pending litigation.
Kim Biggs from the Illinois EPA indicated the state operates under existing replacement guidelines from the 2021 EPA final rule until 2027, while Chicago’s municipal code historically enabled lead line use under the influence of lead companies and the plumbers’ union.
A recent study reveals that two-thirds of children under the age of six in Chicago live in residences with detectable levels of lead in their tap water.
Lead exposure can occur through multiple channels, such as soil and paint, but water is estimated to account for at least 20% of a person’s total exposure.
As lead pipes deteriorate, toxic particles can seep into drinking water, posing a hidden danger to residents.
Additionally, climate change-induced temperature increases may further worsen lead-associated risks, as studies indicate that instances of lead poisoning rise during periods of heat.
Although Perry currently resides in Oak Forest, a suburb of Chicago, she also owns her mother’s home in the South Side of the city—a location still reliant on a lead service line.
“The city has a responsibility to the residents in the city of Chicago to protect them at all costs,” Perry emphasized.
She contended, “There’s no price that’s too high to pay for safe drinking water.”
The replacement timeline set forth by Chicago is rooted in a 2021 state directive, mandating systems with over 100,000 lead service lines—which includes Chicago—to replace all lines within 50 years starting in 2027.
At the time of its enactment, this state law was deemed more stringent than the federal 2021 Lead and Copper Rule revisions, which did not establish majority replacement requirements.
Critics voiced concerns, and some even filed lawsuits against the EPA for weakening federal initiatives meant to secure safe drinking water.
As the Biden administration ended its term, the EPA finalized the latest rule, mandating most systems nationally to complete lead service line replacements by 2038, deferring timelines for municipalities with high proportions of lead lines like Chicago—with a deadline potentially extending to mid-2049.
The EPA anticipates that annually, this rule will avert approximately 900,000 low birth weight cases and 1,500 premature heart disease fatalities.
While several advocates have welcomed this rule, others warn that allowing an additional two decades of lead pipes could pose ongoing health threats for communities in Chicago.
Currently, Chicago’s plan has not aligned with the updated federal regulations, acknowledging the accelerated timeline while maintaining adherence to its slower pace.
The city’s current replacement schedule reflects compliance only “if the regulations go into effect.”
Despite pending litigation regarding the federal rule, Earthjustice’s Lieberman-Klein insists the regulations are still enforceable and in effect.
The rule went live at the end of October, and no changes to compliance dates have been implemented thus far.
Chicago officials attribute their adherence to the older plan to the ongoing lawsuit challenging the new rule.
Nevertheless, this legal contention does not delay the effective date of the rule as clarified by Lieberman-Klein.
Costs associated with each service line replacement are reported to average $35,000, according to city officials; however, they anticipate reducing these expenses by replacing entire blocks of lines concurrently.
This cost estimate stands in contrast to national averages, which range from approximately $4,700 to $12,000 per line.
Despite these financial challenges, significant budget cuts proposed for federal funds could thwart efforts to expedite line replacements.
The EPA’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year is proposed to be more than halved under President Donald Trump, with plans to eliminate nearly all funding for low-interest loans intended to assist states with water infrastructure updates.
The Trump administration’s budget stipulates that states should bear the financial responsibility for their water infrastructure projects.
In Chicago, the anticipated $2 million of funding targeting lead line replacements in daycare facilities for low-income communities was eliminated in the more extensive removal of congressional earmarks this year.
Megan Glover, co-founder and former CEO of 120Water, a company specializing in managing lead replacement programs, expressed that the loss of federal grants and earmarks puts stakeholders back in a precarious position.
“All grants and earmarks are essentially back to ground zero,” Glover noted, reflecting on the uncertain nature of federal funding moving forward under the Trump administration.
Advococates like Anna-Lisa Gonzales Castle of Elevate, a Chicago-based organization aimed at enhancing water and energy accessibility, acknowledge the complexities tied to rapid lead service line replacements but stress that homeowners should not be unfairly burdened for a situation beyond their control.
As she asserted, “We want to see the city move swiftly, and we want federal and state support for this too.”
“To address this issue, it will require a comprehensive, all-hands-on-deck approach.”
As conditions evolve for water quality and public health in Chicago, advocates, residents, and city officials grapple to determine suitable paths forward—all while aiming to eliminate lead pipes and protect vulnerable populations from further exposure.
image source from：grist
