Pennsylvania is working to eliminate lead pipes under the Environmental Protection Agency's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which require most lead pipes to be removed within ten years.

The EPA estimates that 10% to 20% of human exposure to lead may come from drinking water.

Mora McLaughlin - construction communications project manager with Pittsburgh Water - said it aims to meet benchmarks such as replacing lead service lines and improving corrosion control, using a prioritization model to allocate resources effectively, especially in neighborhoods that are most at need or at risk for lead contamination.

"Neighborhoods that perhaps cannot afford to do this, or it will be a financial burden to do it," said McLaughlin, "areas where we know there are a lot of children, and areas where we know there are elevated blood lead levels in children, those are the main factors that we look at that we then develop our program from."

McLaughlin noted that Pennsylvania has received more than $90 million in low-interest loans through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act - for replacing lead pipes with copper, achieving an average of 1,500 replacements annually.

McLaughlin said the neighborhood lead service line replacement programs allocate contract construction crews to inspect and replace any discovered lead lines.

This initiative covers both public and private sections at no cost to the customer.

"But Pittsburgh is an old city, so we have a lot of aging infrastructure - not just on the service line but on some of our water mains as well," said McLaughlin. "So we have an annual program that identifies aging or undersized water mains, and we replace those as well, to the tune of about six to 12 miles per year. "

Maureen Cunningham - chief strategy officer and director of water with Environmental Policy Innovation Center - said new legislation now prioritizes replacing lead pipes, to reduce and potentially eliminate lead in drinking water.

She added that lead is a neurotoxin and can result in many health issues.

"There's basically no safe level of lead in drinking water for human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and multiple other health organizations," said Cunningham. "Lead can actually accumulate in the body over time and be stored in the bones. It can during pregnancy, pass from the mother to the fetus or infant."

Cunningham added that the U.S. needs $1.2 trillion for water infrastructure upgrades, including $625 billion for drinking water alone, as aging systems require replacement.

Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would require property owners to disclose the presence of lead water service lines during a real estate transaction.

Some of Iowa's residential water lines date back more than a century.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least half of the children in the United States are at risk of lead exposure from water lines.

The Iowa Environmental Council's Director of Climate Initiatives Cody Smith said the problem is especially acute in Iowa, where most of the homes built before 1980 have lead in the lines that bring water to the house, and added it will be extremely expensive to address.

"It's estimated that fixing Iowa's lead service line issue would cost about $900 million statewide," said Smith. "So, this is a pressing health concern for the children in our state."

Iowa is responding to a federal rule passed last year that requires all service lines that contain lead to be replaced by 2035.

House File 876 would require sellers to disclose that their house has lead service lines in a real estate transaction.

Iowa utility companies are notifying people if their house has lead in its service lines and offering assistance to remediate it.

Smith said homeowners can also find out for themselves if there's lead in their pipes.

"You can use, like, a penny to scratch your service line where it comes in to often the foundation of your home," said Smith. "And you'll see if it's copper. It it's copper, you're fine. Or if it's PVC plastic, you're fine. But oftentimes, it's going to be a lead service line."

HF 876 has passed the Iowa House and awaits action in the Senate.




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Both water quantity and quality are important in the dry climate of Nevada. Now, a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency could roll back protections for the state's water resources.

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said he wants to reduce protections granted under the Clean Water Act in an effort to undo "unfair burdens" on farmers and landowners. The 1972 federal law aims to maintain and restore the nation's waters.

Natasha Majewski, climate and energy consultant for the Nevada Wildlife Federation, said the waters covered by the act have changed over the years, but it is all an interconnected system.

"Lincoln County doesn't have the same amount of resources as Clark County, and yet water is still flowing from that county into tributaries such as the Muddy River," Majewski pointed out. "That goes into the Colorado River. That will end up being drinking water."

In 2023, the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of "waters of the United States." It determined only wetlands physically connected to other federally-recognized waters qualify for protection.

Majewski noted while Nevada has its own water laws, federal regulation is needed to maintain a baseline for all states. This week, listening sessions about the proposal will be held for government agencies and Native American tribes.

The Trump administration has said it wants to reduce "red tape" for business and industry but conservationists fear loosening restrictions will cause more pollution in Nevada's wetlands and ephemeral streams. Majewski argued water should not be a partisan issue.

"It is important that all Nevadans, whatever kind of political side they are on, are able to understand these issues more," Majewski stressed. "Because water, it surpasses the administration that it's currently in."

Majewski added changing water protections could affect the quality of the Colorado River and would cause complications due to the amount of agencies managing the river.

"The Colorado River and its different tributaries that come in, it is such a patchwork of people that manage those water sources," Majewski explained.

Montana officials have denied a petition asking the state to designate the Big Hole River as "impaired" by pollution.

Two conservation groups collected data over five years and found levels of nutrients in the Big Hole River exceeded thresholds, in some parts, by twofold or threefold, which could harm aquatic habitats, contaminate drinking water and affect fishing and other tourism business. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality said the petitioners used the wrong metrics.

Guy Alsentzer, executive director of the conservation group Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, said it is an example of politics "undermining good science."

"At minimum, we feel that the state owes us a written explanation, with some detail, about exactly why it believes it can deny a petition that has clearly satisfied the scientific basis for developing a pollution cleanup plan," Alsentzer explained.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality argued the petition's data does not abide by a state law passed in 2021. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, however, officially disapproved of the law.

Alsentzer has requested the EPA weigh in, adding once high nutrient levels are proven, it is up to the Department of Environmental Quality to determine the causes.

"In the case of most Montana rivers, it's going to be a combination of human land use patterns," Alsentzer noted. "Sometimes it's subdivisions, sometimes it's septics, sometimes it's a municipality and sometimes it's farm fields or big cattle feeding lots."

Alsentzer stressed keeping waterways healthy is both "good common sense" and "good economics." According to the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Beaverhead County's hunting and angling economy adds an estimated $74 million to area households annually and $167 million to businesses and organizations.


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