"Advocates say vulnerable communities can’t afford to wait 20 years for service line replacement and that more outreach is required."
"On Oct. 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released their new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), which will require almost all communities to replace all lead service lines within the next 10 years. Chicago, the city with the most lead service lines in the country, is one of the exceptions. Starting in 2027, the city has approximately 20 years to replace their lead service lines.
Chicago differs from most other U.S. cities in the sheer scale of its problem and therefore received an extended timeline. Up until the federal ban on lead service lines in 1986, Chicago city code required homes to install lead pipes. The city has approximately 400,000 lead service lines; New York City has around 100,000.
Residents on the South Side are disproportionately impacted by lead service lines.
According to southeast Chicago resident Gina Ramirez, her community faces multiple other environmental justice issues. This part of the city has higher levels of air pollution than other parts of the city. It also has manganese-contaminated soil, according to city officials. In Ramirez’s neighborhood alone, there are two Superfund sites: the Acme Steel Coke Plant, which emitted cyanide and mercury into the water and soil, and the Schroud Property Site, which contains big mounds of steel production waste containing lead, manganese, chromium and other heavy metals."
Nina Elkadi reports for Inside Climate News October 23, 2024.
Advertisement 
