A decade after the Flint crisis captured national attention, tens of thousands of US water transmission lines can still leach dangerous chemicals.
Despite the media coverage and outrage of residents in Flint, Michigan, communities around the country still face the risk of lead poisoning from corroded pipes, according to a report from Emily Kwong, Pien Huang, Rachel Carlson, and Rebecca Ramirez for NPR.
“In the last decade, the city's water quality has improved. Thousands of lead pipes in Flint have been replaced, but not all. That means that not every resident in Flint has clean, fresh water.” And the problem doesn’t stop in Flint. “A 2023 report from the EPA revealed that in 2021, lead made up 9% of the nation's service line infrastructure, representing an estimated 9.2 million pipes.”
Improvements to the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule proposed in late 2023 could finally require water systems to provide accurate information and enforce the replacement of lead pipes. However, a proposed exemption would give cities like Chicago an extension, letting them take multiple decades to replace infrastructure.
Read the full story: 10 years after Flint, the fight to replace lead pipes across the U.S. continues
84% of Chicago's Pipes Contain Lead — and They're Not Equally Distributed
The city’s Black and Latino communities are most impacted, but the issue is widespread across the city’s water distribution network.
Replacing lead pipes in Chicago costs more than 6 times the national average — and authorities can't explain why
Replacing one lead pipe in Chicago costs around $31,000, while the national average cost sits at around $4,700 per line.
An Equity Approach to Lead Pipe Replacement
A former Chicago health commissioner calls on governments to prioritize the most marginalized and historically disinvested communities when distributing funding to replace lead pipes, which have taken the highest toll on the health of disadvantaged c
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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