WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has vowed to replace lead pipes to ensure every American has access to clean drinking water, but policy experts say the billions of dollars he has committed may fall short of that goal.
The new infrastructure law steers $15 billion to lead service line replacement, the largest federal investment in the issue according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, but still a third of what Biden initially proposed for the program.
Lead contamination in water affects millions of homes across all 50 states and has been linked to a variety of health problems, especially in children. The federal money for lead service line replacement comes five years after thousands of children were exposed to lead through drinking water in Flint, Michigan.
