Utilities Prepare for High Costs Under Proposed Lead Pipe Rule

Water utilities are grappling with concerns about funding sources as they speed up efforts to replace lead drinking water pipes to comply with the EPA’s proposed lead regulations.

“Apply now for funding before we go broke,” Ron Falco, safe drinking water program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, told water utility officials attending the American Water Works Association (AWWA) conference in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday.

It will cost drinking water systems about $125 billion to replace up to 10 million lead drinking water pipes over the next 13 years—money likely to come from federal loans, grants, ...