A big step forward to get the lead out of drinking water, but more work still to do

The new rule announced by U.S. EPA accelerates the elimination of lead service lines in our communities, but missed a major opportunity to safeguard water at schools.

Clean water

Eric Michael Clark for NRDC | Used by permission

On October 8th the U.S. EPA finalized a new rule on lead in drinking water. There is no safe level of lead and we applaud this step forward.

Chicago has the most lead service lines of any US city. With this new rule, the Biden administration is taking the most significant step to protect our drinking water from lead since the beginning of the Flint water crisis. The new policy sets a 10-year deadline for most water utilities to replace lead service lines, and Chicago will have around 20 years – an improvement to the previous draft of the rule under which Chicago would have had up to 50 years.

But while we are celebrating the acceleration of eliminating lead service lines in our communities, the EPA missed a major opportunity to safeguard water at school. Lead is particularly harmful to children and schools often have plumbing and fixtures that can contaminate water. To ensure safe water at school, we recommend installing lead-filtering water stations and installing filters on taps used for drinking and cooking. 

It’s time for Illinois officials to rise to the head of the class and get the lead out where our kids go to learn and play.

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