Water Works Brace for High Costs of EPA Lead Pipe, PFAS Mandates

A new EPA rule requiring most lead drinking water pipes to be replaced nationwide by 2037 will reduce the risk of lead poisoning, but federal funding is insufficient for utilities to meet the mandate and court challenges are practically guaranteed.

“Water systems are balancing water quality and affordability concerns,” said Rebecca Slabaugh, water planning director for the consultancy Arcadis US Inc. The $17.6 billion in federal funding available for lead pipe replacement “are currently set to expire in the next few years and are not enough to get the lead pipes out ...