Dear NRDC Activist,

We can put an end to the lead-contaminated water crisis.

Last year, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which includes a $15 billion commitment to replace lead water pipes.

NRDC fought hard alongside community partners to push the administration to do everything in its power to help end the lead contamination in drinking water that plagues many communities across the country, and this federal investment is encouraging.

Now, NRDC and its partners are urging President Biden to not just remove lead water pipes from the ground, but to do so in a fast and equitable way.

Sign our petition urging President Biden to rapidly replace lead water pipes and to ensure communities that are disproportionately impacted by lead contamination in their water get the funding they need. We’ll be sure to deliver your petition directly to the White House.

President Biden’s repeated promise to get the lead out of our water within 10 years is the right way to go. But the EPA is allowing state water utilities 30 years or more to get lead pipes out even as more people continue to suffer from contaminated drinking water. We must send a message to the administration: Get these pipes out quickly and equitably!

Here’s the truth about lead in our drinking water:

• Lead pipes connect to 9 to 12 million homes in every state across the U.S., and communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by lead contamination
• There’s no safe level of lead exposure, period, and low levels of exposure in children are linked to damage to the brain and nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and harm to blood cells
• Exposed adults can suffer from cardiovascular disease and adverse impacts on reproduction and the kidneys, among other harmful health effects

However, while this landmark federal investment in replacing lead service lines is critical to ending the lead-contaminated water crisis, the way the funding is distributed is not equitable: the states with the most lead service lines will get significantly less funding.

For example, Michigan and Missouri — states with some of the highest concentrations of lead service lines — will receive an estimated $151 per service line, while other states with fewer lines will receive an estimated $7,000 or even $10,000 per service line.

It is crucial that the Biden administration works quickly to distribute the funding for these lead service line replacements in a more fair and equitable way. Will you join our call?

Sign our petition right away: we need to make as much noise as possible so that President Biden can ensure states are given the appropriate resources to help them quickly remove lead service lines that are plaguing their communities.

Whether it was the lawsuits in Flint, MI and Newark, NJ that NRDC was a part of, or our partners in frontline organizations who are fighting hard to fix the lead in drinking water crisis, the nation is now more aware than ever of the damage caused by lead in drinking water. NRDC is committed to a future where everyone can trust the water that comes from their tap.

Now it’s time for us to do our part to put an end to the scourge of lead in our drinking water once and for all. So, please, sign our petition calling on the Biden administration to remove lead service lines in our country as quickly and as equitably as possible.

Thank you for being a vital ally in this fight.

Sincerely,

Erik D. Olson
Senior Strategic Director, Health and Food, People & Communities, NRDC