Friend,

There is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Yet right now — on the cusp of an historic investment in our nation's infrastructure — Congress is only planning to invest a third of what's needed to replace all the country's lead pipes.

That means many communities will be left behind — and families, disproportionately in communities of color, will continue to be exposed to lead through drinking water, with tragic lifelong neurological and cognitive effects for children in particular.

To remove lead from every community's drinking water, we need to make our voices heard right now. It will take $45 billion to replace the 10 million lead pipes currently used to carry water to homes across the country — a small fraction of the huge infrastructure investment moving through Congress.

This investment would improve the health of our communities across the country — can you demand action from your representatives now?

We've set a goal of 5,000 petition signatures today. Will you take action and demand that Congress invest enough to remove ALL lead pipes from our communities now?

Thousands of cities across the country are lead hotspots. That means there are thousands of neighborhoods with hazardous service lines, where pregnant women and children are forced to drink lead-contaminated water.

Even slightly elevated levels of lead in blood early in early childhood can create neurological and cognitive issues for children, with long-term consequences. And this impacts communities of color more: for example, Black children are 6 times more likely to have elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Lead poisoning is an example of how historic and systemic racism continues to harm Black communities especially — experts draw direct connections from this lead contamination to the redlining practices of the 1950s and 60s that segregated Black communities.

The current infrastructure package moving through Congress only dedicates a third of what's needed to get lead out of all of our communities — and this isn't acceptable. We must make the necessary investments, especially prioritizing communities facing a higher risk of lead exposure, and require that water utilities replace all lead service lines within a decade.

Clean, safe, lead-free water for everyone is possible — can you be one of the 5,000 LCV supporters we need TODAY to urge Congress to act?

Lead contamination has harmful impacts at every level for both people and our environment. We're so close to making an investment that could help protect children for generations a reality — but now it's critical that we fight. Thank you for standing with us.

Brooke Still
Senior Director of Digital Strategy
League of Conservation Voters