Revealed: US cities refusing to replace toxic lead water pipes unless residents pay

Temporary pipes in the Washington Park neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island Photograph: Philip Keith/The Guardian

Elena Bautista didn’t pay much attention to the work crews that rolled down her street last year. They planned to remove water pipes made of lead, a toxin that can permanently damage children’s brains.

But they skipped the tenement building where Bautista and her two kids lived.