EPIC releases guidance for lead pipe replacement

The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) released a new report to highlight best practices for municipalities, communities, and policymakers on replacing lead pipes quickly, efficiently, and equitably over the next decade.

Titled From the Ground Up: A Guide to Replacing the Nation’s Toxic Lead Pipes Over the Next Decade, 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), represent momentum created by the federal government for replacing the nation’s toxic lead pipes.

“Today, we have momentum like we have not seen in our lifetimes on the side of faster, efficient, and equitable lead pipe replacement,” says 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, Mass.; Hazel Crest, Ill.; and Newburgh, N.Y.

“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,” says 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.”