“We’re here today because we’re finally addressing an issue that should have been addressed a long time ago in this country — the danger that lead pipes pose to our drinking water,” Mr. Biden said. “For too long, local communities have known how important it was to deal with this problem. It hadn’t been given the national priority that it demanded though. I’m here today to tell you that I’m finally insisting that it gets prioritized and I’m insisting it get done.”
~ Joseph Biden, next write-in candidate that’ll win the next election.
I’m not quite sure what to say to this one. Out of nowhere you’re dropping a ten year deadline for upending the entire decaying sewer infrastructure of the U.S in like, the last stretch of your career? The fuck?
As this is relevant to my job, here’s the score:
This process has been coming for a few years now.
Some old houses had small sections of their “service line”- the pipe between the main and the internal plumbing of the house - made of lead. The amount of lead that leaches into the water depends on the chemistry (the Langelier Index) and the contact time. There is currently a requirement for regular testing to see if water that sits for 8+ hours leaches enough lead (& copper) to be dangerous if someone drinks it for 20 years.
The difficulty of replacement is that records from before the 60s are spotty and may not note the material of the line. This will require potholing in front of every house to try to determine the material.
My town was already planning this out, and was starting to get prices from contractors.
Hold up, what if I live in a house for more than 20 years? Just get lead poisoning?
Just move to a different house with different lead pipes every few years, to reset the timer
Drink litres of EDTA and hope for the best
The limit wasn’t set at “definitely get poisoned,” but “noticable risk.” There was also the statistics saying the vast majority of people move before then or that the lines fail and need to be replaced anyways.
This was meant to balance safety with not bankrupting every small town for the poor decisions of the previous generation.