For Immediate Release: EPIC Releases a New Report to Guide Replacement of Toxic Lead Pipes Over Next Decade
Best practices guide timed with anniversary of Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan
MEDIA CONTACT: Maureen Cunningham, Environmental Policy Innovation Center, maureen@policyinnovation.org
Washington, DC – The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) released a new report, From the Ground Up: A Guide to Replacing the Nation’s Toxic Lead Pipes Over the Next Decade, to highlight best practices for municipalities, communities, and policymakers on replacing lead pipes quickly, efficiently, and equitably - and over the next decade.
The report can be accessed here.
The report is timed with the one-year anniversary of the Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan. This milestone, along with historic funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), represents momentum created by the federal government for replacing the nation’s toxic lead pipes. EPIC’s report highlights the policies and practices that can help ensure that they are replaced over the next decade to address public health concerns.
“Today, we have momentum like we have not seen in our lifetimes on the side of faster, efficient, and equitable lead pipe replacement,” said Maureen Cunningham, Chief Strategy Officer and Director of Water at EPIC. “Though slow is the easy path forward, it’s not acceptable. No one should be drinking lead-contaminated water when the solutions are at hand. We need to seize the momentum now to ensure more communities are on a path to lead-free water over the next decade. Our guide covers what we believe are the necessary ingredients for successful lead pipe replacement.”
The report draws from EPIC’s Lead Free Water Challenge and work with Blue Conduit, Center for Geospatial Solutions, WaterPIO, and other partners to help small and medium-sized municipalities replace lead pipes, including Chelsea, MA; Hazel Crest, IL; and Newburgh, NY.
“The Village of Hazel Crest has been happy to work with the Environmental Policy Innovation Center and other partners on the Lead-Free Water Challenge, and getting the lead out in our municipality. Village President Vernard L. Alsberry and our Board of Trustees understands that the identification and removal of lead service lines throughout the Village is an important goal. Sharing best practices through this report gets more municipalities around the country closer to that goal,” said Dante Sawyer, Village Manager.
“The City of Newburgh's partnership with the Environmental Policy Innovation Center and other groups working on lead service line replacement is a great step in the right direction towards a lead-free water distribution system,” said Wayne Vradenburgh, City of Newburgh Water Superintendent. “Our commitment to our customers for high quality drinking water is and always will be our top priority.”
“Clear, consistent, and proactive public communication has long served as the backbone for success with any sensitive matter a water provider might face, let alone their compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule,” said Mike McGill, President of WaterPIO and LeadCopperRule.com. “This report combines existing expertise with lessons learned during EPIC’s Lead-Free Water Challenge to provide water professionals with a roadmap they can use to help them succeed during their lead service line inventory and replacement work. We’re proud to have taken part in such an invaluable effort.”
“Lead service line replacement is essential to protecting our drinking water and ensuring a safe, healthy environment for all. The Center for Geospatial Solutions works with communities to provide technology, resources, and support to make this important process more efficient, cost-effective, and successful,” said Anne Scott, Executive Director at the Center for Geospatial Solutions
"An actionable inventory is a key step to replacing lead service lines successfully,” said Ian Robinson, President/COO at BlueConduit. “We have been thrilled to work with EPIC and other partners to support communities in getting the lead out of the ground as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sharing the lessons we have learned will position more communities for successful lead service line replacement.”
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About Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC): The Environmental Policy innovation Center (EPIC) builds policies that deliver spectacular improvement in the speed and scale of environmental progress. A nonprofit start-up, EPIC is committed to finding and highlighting the best approaches for scaling up results quickly. EPIC focuses on water equity, watershed partnerships, endangered species, environmental markets, and the use of data and technology in producing conservation outcomes. We aim to advance innovative policies that provide equitable access to safe, reliable, and affordable water. We do this by engaging diverse partners, exploring out-of-the-box solutions, and championing policy change to address disparities across water systems. EPIC is a member of the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative, a joint effort of national public health, water utility, environmental, labor, consumer, housing, and state and local governmental organizations to accelerate full removal of the lead pipes providing drinking water to millions of American homes. www.policyinnovation.org
About BlueConduit: BlueConduit is a water analytics company that uses cutting-edge, predictive machine learning methods to locate lead service lines, empowering local officials with the information to efficiently remove those pipes. Our models enable utilities to focus their resources on digging where the lead is and accelerating the removal of this significant health concern and save millions of dollars in avoided digs. BlueConduit has inventoried more than 500,000 service lines across more than 50 cities in the United States and Canada. Those service lines provide water to more than 1,000,000 residents. www.blueconduit.com
About WaterPIO: Founded in 2016, WaterPIO provides award-winning public communications services to water and wastewater operations all over the country. WaterPIO calls upon more than 50 years of experience working in water and three decades of news production and public relations expertise. www.waterpio.com
About the Center for Geospatial Solutions: Established in 2020, the Center for Geospatial Solutions works to ensure that organizations of all sizes have access to data and advanced technologies to improve decision-making for land and water conservation, climate action, and other work to promote social equity. We extract better insights from data through a combination of geographic information systems (GIS), earth observations, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics. We deliver products and services that support decision making, track impacts and tell powerful stories. www.lincolninst.edu/center-geospatial-solutions