Getting the Lead Out of Our Drinking Water
Happy belated National Drinking Water Week (May 7-13)!
Lead pipes are the largest threat to drinking water in Chicago. Lead is a neurotoxin and is unsafe in any amount. The significant health impacts of lead include kidney disease and high blood pressure in adults and worse impacts on the developing brains of children.
Lead pipes used to be the standard for water lines, and Illinois installed them until the Safe Drinking Water Act was amended in 1986 to end their use. According to a recent survey by US EPA, Illinois ranks second among states with the most lead pipes. Chicago has the most of any city with approximately 400,000 lead pipes. The pipes are coated in phosphate to prevent lead from leaching into the water (in conformity with the Lead and Copper Rule), but corrosion and disturbance of the pipes undermine this measure.
Lead pipes are an environmental justice issue. The Guardian reviewed the results of water tests done for Chicago residents and found incredibly high levels of lead, especially in communities where the majority of residents were Black or Latino.
The issue of lead pipes in cities has long been complicated by the property lines between public and private land. Main lines that run under the street connect to smaller pipes that extend from the main lines onto private property to bring water into our homes and businesses. There has long been resistance to using public funds to replace the part of service lines that extends onto private property. Other cities and states have addressed this challenge using a variety of funding sources.
Chicago is taking several approaches, as described on the Lead-Safe Chicago site, including an equitable program, and has started replacing the lead pipes—but at a glacial pace. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, by December 2022, only 280 pipes had been replaced. Illinois passed legislation that became effective this year requiring an inventory of pipes and prohibiting partial replacement of lead pipes. Hopefully, this will speed up the process, but what should you do in the meantime?
Test your water. Sign up to either have a test kit (complete with instructions) sent to your home or to request a test visit.
Use an appropriate filter. Look for one that meets NSF Standard 53, and change your filter after the appropriate amount of use (or it will no longer protect you).
Report any leaks or breaks in your service line to 311. They will send someone out to fix it for free.
Let your alderperson and the mayor know that this is important to you. Find your alderperson’s contact information.
Share this important information by subscribing to and sharing our blog. Archives of this blog can be found on LWV Chicago’s website. If you want to be involved in all things environmental, consider joining our Environmental Action Committee at our monthly meetings the third Monday of every month at 4 pm. Email us at environment@lwvchicago.org for the Zoom link!