ST. LOUIS (AP) — In many cities, no one knows where the lead pipes lie underground. That's important because lead pipes contaminate drinking water. After the lead crisis in Flint, officials in Michigan accelerated efforts to locate their pipes, a first step toward removal.
Sri Vedachalam, director of water equity and climate resilience at Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc., said he hopes communities are replacing pipes for residents’ benefit.There is some indication that embarrassment has been a motivator.
Michigan and New Jerseyto combat lead in drinking water, including speeding up the mapping process, after downplaying high lead levels. But things are moving more slowly in some other states like Iowa and Missouri that haven’t experienced similar headline-grabbing crises. Earlier in August, the EPA instructed communities how to document their pipes. Money will flow according to the needs of each state, Fox said. There is technical assistance available and also easier terms for disadvantaged communities. Water testing in Hamtramck, a city of nearly 30,000 surrounded by Detroit, has periodically revealed worrisome levels of lead. The city assumes most of its pipes are made of the problem metal and work is underway to replace them.Pipe replacement is so sought after in Michigan that communities have applied for more funds than will be immediately available.EPA distributed early funds using a formula that doesn’t consider the number of lead pipes in each state. So some states received far more money per lead pipe than others. The agency is working to correct that for future years. Michigan is hopeful that if states don’t spend their money, it will eventually flow to them. Schwartz of BlueConduit said officials should be sure not to skip pipe inspections in poor neighborhoods, to ensure inventories are accurate. Otherwise if there is better documentation in wealthy areas, they might receive replacement funding more quickly even if they don’t need it as much. Dubuque, a city of about 58,000 on the Mississippi River, wants more than $48 million to replace roughly 5,500 of its pipes that contain lead. Mapping work started years ago and previous officials ensured that it was properly updated, anticipating it would one day be a federal requirement. They were right.Christopher Lester, manager of the city’s water department, said those past efforts made applying for funds easy. “We’re fortunate to have the inventory developed. We don’t need to try and play catch up,” Lester said.The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit
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