EPA Announces $28 Million for Washington Lead Pipe Replacement to Advance Safe Drinking Water as Part of Investing in America Agenda

EPA Announces $28 Million for Washington Lead Pipe Replacement to Advance Safe Drinking Water as Part of Investing in America Agenda

EPA announces latest round of funding toward President Biden's commitment to replace every lead pipe in the nation, protecting public health and helping to deliver safe drinking water

May 6, 2024

SEATTLE - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $28,650,000 from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to help Washington identify and replace lead service lines, preventing exposure to lead in drinking water. Lead can cause a range of serious health impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children. To protect children and families, President Biden has committed to replacing every lead pipe in the country. Today's announcement, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and available through EPA's successful Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, takes another major step to advance this work and environmental justice, and bolsters the Administration's Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan and EPA's Get the Lead Out Initiative.

Working collaboratively, EPA and the State Revolving Funds are advancing the President's Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40% of overall benefits from certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Lead exposure disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income families. The total funding announced through this program to date is expected to replace up to 1.7 million lead pipes nationwide, securing clean drinking water for countless families.

"Lead in drinking water is a public health crisis that must be addressed so people can trust what comes out of their tap," saidEPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller. "This funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides Washington a tremendous opportunity to make progress on eliminating a significant source of lead in drinking water. Permanently removing aging - and all together outdated - water infrastructure is a crucial step toward strengthening public health."

"In 2024, no household in America should be turning on their water and wondering if it is safe to drink," said Senator Murray. "This investment will help communities across our state upgrade water infrastructure to ensure families have access to the clean, safe drinking water they deserve. I helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the Senate, which included historic new funding for clean drinking water, and as Appropriations Chair, I fought to protect these essential resources in this year's funding bills. This funding will help make critical upgrades-and I am going to keep fighting to secure the resources we need so every family has clean drinking water."

"For too long, we have underinvested in our nation's water infrastructure, putting our public and environmental health at risk. To upgrade and modernize our infrastructure, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included the single largest investment in water the federal government has ever made," said Congressman Adam Smith. "The investments announced today will fund projects across our state to replace lead pipes and make sure that children and families in our communities have access to clean and safe drinking water."

"Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Washington state has the funding it needs to ensure working families have clean drinking water," said Congressman Rick Larsen. "The BIL has been instrumental in enabling more communities to replace lead pipes with the infrastructure needed to improve water quality, keep people safe and protect the environment."

"Everyone deserves access to clean water. Yet, millions of Americans, including thousands of households in Washington, still rely on outdated water systems that are contaminated with lead that can cause health issues," said Congresswoman Suzan DelBene. "This $29 million federal investment through the bipartisan infrastructure law will help modernize water infrastructure, addressing systemic inequalities, and expanding access to clean water across our state. I will continue working with the Biden administration to ensure all Americans have access to safe and clean water."

"Clean drinking water is absolutely essential, and I'm thrilled that Washington State receiving more than $28 million to replace lead pipes across our state," said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. "Lead exposure is an issue that has disproportionately impacted poor people and communities of color, and through President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, we are continuing to undo decades of underinvestment and work toward a reality where no family has to worry about access to clean drinking water. I'm proud to have helped pass the Infrastructure Law as this legislation continues to deliver funding for projects that center the health and wellbeing of communities across America."

"Access to clean drinking water is a public health and equity issue," said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland. "This massive federal investment to replace lead pipes will help communities that need it most."

President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests a historic $15 billion to identify and replace lead service lines. The law mandates that 49% of funds provided through the DWSRF General Supplemental Funding and DWSRF Lead Service Line Replacement Funding must be provided as grants and forgivable loans to disadvantaged communities, a crucial investment for communities that have been underinvested in for too long. EPA projects a national total of 9 million lead services lines across the country, based on data collected from the updated 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment. The funding announced today will be provided specifically for lead service line identification and replacement and will help every state and territory fund projects to remove lead pipes and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water. This Lead Service Line-specific formula allows states to receive financial assistance commensurate with their need as soon as possible, furthering public health protection nationwide. To ensure that funding is used for lead service line related activities, LSLR allotments are based on need - meaning that states with more projected lead service lines receive proportionally more.

Alongside the funding announced today, EPA is also releasing a memorandum that clarifies how states can use this and other funding to most effectively reduce exposure to lead in drinking water. Additionally, EPA has developed new outreach documents to help water systems educate their customers on drinking water issues, health impacts of lead exposure, service line ownership, and how customers can support the identification of potential lead service lines in their homes.

To learn about the intended uses of the SRFs in Washington -- and to see how prior years' funding has been used -- go to: http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/DrinkingWater/WaterSystemAssistance/DrinkingWaterStateRevolvingFundDWSRF

To view more stories about how the unpreceded investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are transforming communities across the country, visit EPA's Investing in America's Water Infrastructure Story Map. To read more about some additional projects that are underway, see EPA's recently released Quarterly Report on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funded Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF projectsand explore the State Revolving Funds Public Portal.

Today's allotments are based on EPA's updated 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment including an assessment of the one-time update submissions. To date, this is the best available data collected and assessed on service line materials in the United States. Later this summer, EPA will release an addendum to the 7th DWINSA Report to Congress which will include the updated lead service line projections. EPA anticipates initiating data collection, which will include information on lead service lines, for the 8th DWINSA in 2025.

For more information, including state-by-state allotment of 2024 funding, and a breakdown of EPA's lead Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, please visit EPA's Drinking Water website.