The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed a stricter govern on guide in drinking water that would demand that all guide service lines in the country be replaced within 10 years, and would lower the current guide action level in drinking water from 15 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion.
More than 9.2 million American households have water connections that include guide piping, according to the White House. guide moves from the pipes into the water when the plumbing experiences corrosion, which is most severe when the water is acidic or has low mineral content. There is no safe level of guide, which is a toxic metal with wide-ranging health effects, including neurotoxic effects. In children, guide exposure can damage the brain and nervous system, slow development, lower IQ, and provoke learning, behavioral, speech, and hearing problems. In adults, it can enhance the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and kidney damage.
The EPA estimates that the govern will create between $9.8 billion to $34.8 billion in economic benefits each year based on health improvement, including higher IQs in children, healthier newborns, lower cardiovascular risks in adults, and a reduction in care for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
But, ripping out and replacing guide pipes will not come cheap. The EPA estimates that it will cost $20 billion to $30 billion to exchange the pipes over 10 years. Currently, there is $15 billion available to find and exchange guide pipes from the 2021 infrastructure law. The White House notes that there is also an additional $11.7 billion in general-purpose funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which can also be used for guide pipe replacement.
In addition to lowering the guide action level and removing remaining guide pipes, the new govern will also help acknowledge guide piping, spur improvements for guide testing, and demand more public outreach when guide levels are found to exceed the action level, including offering communities more filters that eradicate guide.
The govern is part of a larger effort by the Biden administration to reduce guide exposure in children and advance environmental justice. guide exposure disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color.
“guide in drinking water is a generational public health issue, and EPA’s proposal will accelerate progress towards President Biden’s goal of replacing every guide pipe across America once and for all,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “With collaboration and the focused actions proposed today, EPA is delivering on our charge to protect all Americans, especially communities of color, that are disproportionately harmed by guide in drinking water systems.”
The EPA is accepting comments on the proposed govern for 60 days and could finalize it sometime next year.
