Replacing lead pipes in Washington, D.C., after decades of inaction

Lead-con­t­a­m­i­na­tion in drink­ing water in Wash­ing­ton, D.C., became a cri­sis in 2004, with lead con­cen­tra­tions exceed­ing those in Flint, MI. In the decades since, very few pipes were replaced. Prop­er­ty own­ers were required to share the replace­ment cost, result­ing in replace­ments being con­cen­trat­ed in afflu­ent areas. Lead expo­sure con­tin­ued in under-resourced neigh­bor­hoods, dis­pro­por­tion­ate­ly affect­ing D.C.‘s Black res­i­dents. In 2019, a new plan was insti­tut­ed in which D.C. Water will be pro­vid­ed with funds to cov­er the full pipe replace­ment cost and con­struc­tion will pro­ceed on a block-by-block basis. Two pre­dom­i­nant­ly Black wards will be first up for replacements.

CEE sub­jects: Envi­ron­men­tal Engi­neer­ing, Hydraulics and Hydro­log­i­cal Engi­neer­ing, Water Qual­i­ty and Health

• The arti­cle notes that funds allo­cat­ed for lead pipe replace­ment were not spent, and that finan­cial resources were not the rea­son for inac­tion. What oth­er rea­sons would there be for the lack of progress after such a seri­ous prob­lem had been identified?

• Pop­u­lar media/news references
  • https://www.streetsensemedia.org/article/lead-removal-2030/#.Y8CEUS-B2X2