Getting the Lead Out
By Albert B. Kelly
It’s one of those things we don’t often think about because it’s one of those things we can’t see. I’m speaking specifically about the presence of lead in municipal water systems. Most people are aware of the hazards of lead when it comes to paint, but it has been only in the last several years that the focus has shifted to lead in our water. Nowhere was this more evident than in Flint, Michigan a largely black community with a poverty rate of roughly 40%.
In 2014, trying to find cheaper alternatives, the municipality started pulling some nasty water from the Flint River as a temporary measure while they built new infrastructure to connect with a nearby water authority. Their failure to treat the water led to corrosion of the pipes which in turn led to extremely unsafe levels of lead in the drinking water.
What made their initial failure to properly treat the water even worse was the dismissive attitude of officials when residents complained about the nasty water. That’s at least partially why the demographic makeup of the community gets mentioned here, because it’s doubtful that the residents of say Birmingham, Michigan would have received the same type of dismissive treatment.
The other reason demographics matter in this discussion is because lead water lines are the stock and trade of older communities, inner cities, and urbanized areas and these areas are home to significant numbers of black and Latino residents; the very places that get gerrymandered to the margins in the name of redistricting.
What we know is that high lead levels have serious health consequences, everything from kidney disease and anemia to stunted growth, behavior problems, reduced IQs and impaired brain development in young children. The health consequences are numerous and far-reaching, often spanning several span generations.
That’s why I was encouraged to see the NJDEP setting down some markers for municipalities to get a handle on the issue of lead and the water supply statewide. Last summer, the “Lead Service Line Replacement Law” was passed which requires all municipalities with water systems to replace lead lines within a decade. Municipalities will replace a certain number each year for the next decade to achieve this goal.
Under this law, municipalities are required to notify anyone and everyone concerned (i.e. customers) when it is known that they are served by a lead line. These lines could be that portion of the system that the municipality is responsible for meaning from the main to the curb, or the lead line could be that portion of line that the property owner is responsible for, meaning from the curb to the building.
As far as the part of the infrastructure that runs from the main to the curb, identifying and replacing this portion of the infrastructure seems fairly straightforward. Once identified, the municipality will remove those lines and install new lines to eliminate the problem. The part that is less clear, is the portion of the infrastructure running under the private owner’s property.
Some will have the resources to have a plumber come in and replace the lines. But what happens in communities and neighborhoods where households and families don’t have the money to cover the costs? Will they be compelled to face the potential health problems posed by lead in their lines simply because they lack the resources to pay for a plumber?
As I’ve mentioned on other occasions and in other contexts, this is a government-sized problem and by that, I mean all levels of government. This problem of lead service lines is one where federal, state and local partners can effectively deal with the problem for low-moderate income families by sketching out and standing up a dedicated lead-line replacement program that provides resources for low-moderate income households.
Something similar was done with lead-based paint and the removal of lead paint, paint chips, and lead dust in homes through an extensive remediation framework. And just as lead water lines are the stock and trade of older communities, inner cities, and urbanized areas, so it was and remains with lead-based paint. For those unable to solve their lead problem by moving to a newer suburb, there needs to be access to the resources necessary to ensure lead-free water. In the meantime, we’ll be working on ways to help all of our affected households offset costs.