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Mott applauds federal rule requiring communities to remove lead water lines

Environment

Addressing the Freshwater Challenge

Soil located around lead piping is removed with high pressure water and a large soil vacuum excavator as part of lead replacement work.
Upgrading water infrastructure — by removing lead pipes, replacing crumbling water and sewer mains, and modernizing other equipment — is critical to ensuring safe, affordable water. Crews in Flint, shown here, and other Great Lakes cities have removed thousands of lead service lines in recent years, but many more remain. Photo: Cristina Wright

The following is a statement from Ridgway White, president and CEO of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, on a new federal rule requiring communities to remove lead water lines by 2034.

One of government’s primary roles is ensuring the health and well-being of its citizens. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took a huge step this week toward better protecting public health by finalizing a rule requiring most drinking water systems nationwide to replace lead pipes within 10 years. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation applauds the EPA for enacting this rule, which is a direct result of the water crisis in our hometown of Flint. We also applaud our grantees whose work helped change the narrative about lead water pipes and inform this new rule. Now communities, water utilities, policymakers and philanthropic organizations must work together to secure the necessary funding. Getting the lead out of our nation’s drinking water systems will be a massive undertaking — one that is long overdue.