EPA’s proposed Lead and Copper Rule

 In the waning days of this administration the White House is preparing to sign the U.S.EPA's first updates to the nation's lead and copper standards for drinking water rules since the lead action level was lowered. The update to the rule is seen as strengthening lead monitoring and notifications, and includes the first-ever requirement for testing of drinking water in schools and day cares. So it looks like it is a win for people.  

 Lead in drinking water is a national problem. That lead is predominately coming from the pipes. Lead does not exist in in most groundwater, rivers and lakes- the source water for most municipal and private water supplies. Instead, lead in drinking water is picked up from the pipes on its journey into a home. In older homes the water service lines delivering water from the water main in the street into each home were commonly made of lead. This practice began to fade by the 1950’s but was legal until 1988. Lead was also used to solder copper pipes together before 1988 (when the 1986 ban on lead in paint and solder went into effect). Also, until very recently (2011 Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act) almost all drinking water fixtures were made from brass containing up to 8% lead, even if they were sold as "lead-free." So even homes built with PVC piping in the 2000’s may have some lead in most of the faucets.

 The U.S. EPA regulation to control lead and copper in drinking water known as the Lead and Copper Rule (also referred to as the LCR) has undergone various revisions since it was first passed in 1991, but currently requires that:

• Water utilities optimize their treatment system to control corrosion in customers plumbing;
• Determine the tap water levels of lead and copper for customers who have lead service lines or lead-based solder in their plumbing systems;
• Rule out the source water as the source of significant lead levels;
• If lead levels exceed action levels (0.010 mg/L) the supplier is required to educate their customers about lead and actions they can take to reduce their exposure to lead.
• If corrosion control treatment plan continues to fail to reduce lead below lead action level it must begin replacing the lead service lines under its ownership.
• The cities distribution system usually stops at the property line when the homeowner or building owner becomes responsible. In some cities and communities (like Fairfax, VA) the property owner is responsible for the entire service line from the water main to the house (or other building). 

There are about 75 million homes across the country built before 1980, and are likely to contain some lead plumbing, though homes built until 2011 can contain some lead containing plumbing fixtures. That’s half of the housing. In addition, there are an estimated 7.3 million homes connected to their utility's water mains by individual lead service lines. These homes and buildings are mostly in older cities. These lead service lines are owned in part or whole by the property owner and should have been replaced decades ago. The cities distribution system usually stops at the property line when the homeowner or building owner becomes responsible. In some cities and communities (like Fairfax, VA) the property owner is responsible for the entire service line from the water main to home.

The new rule will tighten the requirements for lead service line replacement. Though the existing rule’s has a 7% replacement rate, it rarely happens because of provisions in the current rule allows partial line replacement which may make lead exposure worse.

Here are some of the changes in the update:

For Large Community Water Systems (serving >10,000 customers)

• Lead Service Line (LSL) removal begins at 10 part per billions (ppb) versus 15 ppb.
• More stringent sampling will better find the high lead levels that compel
• replacement.
• Systems must replace the entire lead service line when doing a replacement. If a customer replaces their portion the water systems must replace the water system-owned portion of a lead service line.
• The replacement rate is reduced to 3%. However, systems will no longer be able to “test out” lines. The current rule allows system to count the line as replaced towards their 7% removal if a sample taken from an individual line is below 15 ppb — even when not replaced. This has been a major problem with the current rule.

Currently, water systems can stop the 7% removal of lead service lines if after one year or less once they are below the action level. The proposed rule requires water systems that fall under the rule’s mandatory 3% replacement program to have lead levels less than the 15 ppb action level for two years prior to ending the replacement program. In addition, water systems must make their LSL inventory publicly available, and must notify occupants of homes with LSL every year about the presence of their LSL. This is to allow neighborhood to be informed and take local action. Hopefully, these two steps will keep water systems in the program and get the lead service lines replaced

Finally, in  Small Community Water Systems (serving <10,000 customers) that select LSL replacement as their compliance option would have to replace LSLs on a schedule not to exceed 15 years if they exceed the action level.

Overall, this appears to be an improvement in the Lead and Copper rule that will better protect our inner city communities that are most impacted by lead in drinking water. However, “testing out” of replacement should be eliminated. All lead service lines should be replaced. Those of us on public water need to push to have all lead service lines in our communities replaced. After that the next step is to address the problem of lead in down well equipment.