Sarah Bucic, MSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC, author of this guest post, is a policy analyst at the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments.

From late 2023 to early 2024, hundreds of thousands of people commented on a safe drinking water rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More people weighed in on a rule of this type than ever before.

Most comments supported the strongest possible safeguards to remove lead pipes across the country and urged stronger action to stop lead contamination at schools and child care centers.

The EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements regulation went into effect Dec. 30. It directs most water utilities to identify and replace their lead service lines by 2037. The rule also requires rigorous testing of drinking water and further protections to safeguard the public. Yet there are indications that opponents are seeking to weaken or repeal the rule.

In December, the American Water Works Association, a nonprofit that creates water standards involving treatment, storage and transportation, sued EPA to overturn the regulations. In its petition, the association argued that the rule requirements were neither feasible nor authorized by law, and raised concern about the ability of some water systems to comply with the timeline and requirements with potential to ultimately impact water affordability.

While EPA said Aug. 4 it would defend the finalized Biden-era rule on lead in drinking water, the agency did not address whether it would weaken or change the rule. That omission raises concerns, as EPA has slashed an alarmingly high number of other environmental health protections this year, including weakening new drinking water standards on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

There is no safe amount of lead in drinking water and no safe amount of exposure to lead. Lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body.
Lead exposure in children contributes to potentially irreversible neurological impacts, with those exposed facing life-long health impacts. Lead is also dangerous for adults. It is associated with developing hypertension and is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease.

Access to safe drinking water is essential for families to live healthy and productive lives. Yet, in states across the nation, children — who often are children of color — are exposed to lead and other toxic chemicals in their tap water at home and at school because of lead service lines.

Lead pipes exist in cities and towns in all 50 states, with 186 million people in the U.S. estimated to have drinking water systems with lead levels exceeding 1 part per billion — the maximum threshold for lead in water to protect children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Repealing protections against lead in public drinking water is not the answer. In fact, polling shows that 9 in 10 voters support requiring water systems to replace all of their lead pipes within a decade.

EPA has until December to amend the lead and copper rule.

The public health field has worked for decades to prevent lead in drinking water and in the environment. Contact your elected officials in the U.S. Congress and urge them to support EPA vigorously defending the rule against the lawsuit and that EPA should not make changes to the rule. Tell them why the lead and copper rule is important to you and your community.

Kristie Trousdale, MPH, deputy director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network, and Kate Robb, deputy director of the Center for Public Health Policy at APHA, contributed to this article.

Photo by Andreswd, courtesy iStockphoto