After years of Chicago denying the dangers of lead service lines, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot launched a lead service line replacement program in Chicago in 2021, promising to tackle the city’s staggering 400,000 lead pipes. However, four years later, progress remains minimal in the neighborhoods that need the replacements the most.
Chicago aims to replace 30,000 residential lead service lines by 2027. As of April 3, 2024, the city has replaced roughly 10,300 of those service lines, seemingly making timely progress. However, a closer inspection of data obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the Department of Water Management and analysis of Chicago’s historical redlining documents reveals that the communities that are most at risk are being left behind.
Data from the Department of Water Management revealed that the city has only replaced 700 lead service lines in the South Side of Chicago, where 61.5 percent of the population is Black or African American and 28.1 percent of the population is Hispanic. These replacements account for 6.81 percent of all of Chicago’s replacements, despite having populations who are more severely affected by lead contamination and older housing.
“Lead service lines were only outlawed in Chicago in 1986,” said Gabby Plotkin, senior policy manager focusing on water and waste issues at the Illinois Environmental Council. “A lot of housing stock still has that, particularly on the South and West Sides, where Black and brown people still live, are going to be 100-year-old houses, so those two things overlap.”
Chicago has more lead service lines than any other U.S. city. It is also known for its severe racial disparities in public health outcomes, economic success, and redlining. An NIH-funded research team found that Black children had higher median blood lead levels than non-Hispanic white children, with 80% of the Black children experiencing economic disadvantage and living in areas with greater racial residential segregation. These older homes also often have lead paint, which is another significant source of lead contamination.
Additionally, an analysis by the Metropolitan Planning Council found that people of color in Illinois are up to twice as likely to live in municipalities where the majority of lead service lines exist. These communities are also home to 65 percent of both the Black and Latino populations and 42 percent of both the Asian American and Native American populations, whereas only 30 percent of Illinois’s White population resides in these areas.
One reason for this disparity is that the current city programs offer free replacements only to qualifying homeowners. Redlining in Chicago forced minority communities to rent to homes and apartments to have residential spaces. As a result, disproportionately Black and brown renters are left out if their landlords don’t qualify based on income. In addition, the burdensome paperwork and application process alone can be a deterrent to getting lead service lines replaced.
Lead service lines are the most significant source of lead in water because of their size and continuous contact with flowing water. But Chicago’s response has not been substantial enough to prevent harm.
“There is no safe level of lead exposure. You can't smell, taste, or see lead in drinking water,” so people may be exposed without knowing it, explained Elin Betanzo, founder of Safe Water Engineering. “It's an irreversible neurotoxin. Even if it's a low level, it's just persistent and continuous, which makes it very harmful, especially for the development of [children].”
Betanzo, known for her role in uncovering the Flint water crisis, explained that the even cheaper option of chemical treatments to limit pipe erosion is not a substitute for a full-service line replacement.
“[The chemicals] essentially form a layer of lead paint inside the pipe to coat the pipe,” Betanzo said. “So while the corrosion control can bring down the amount of dissolved lead in the water, sometimes in certain conditions, it can increase the risk of particulate lead, which can come up with very, very high levels of lead.”
Lead exposure can increase the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and kidney damage in adults, as well as reduced fetal growth and preterm birth during pregnancy. However, young children are especially susceptible to the toxic effects of lead, particularly during the development of the central nervous system.
Funding remains the greatest obstacle to achieving lead-free water in Chicago.
The city has heavily relied on federal funds loans from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for its lead service line replacements. The city’s current WIFIA loan for its water main and lead service line replacement program is $336 million, covering only a fraction of its need.
Elevate is a national nonprofit organization that aims to create equitable and affordable access to clean resources for local communities. In 2021, it successfully pushed Illinois to pass the Lead Service Line and Notification Act, a law that requires all lead service lines to be replaced when a connected water main is replaced, to prevent an influx of lead in drinking water when construction on the water main essentially shakes up the service lines and causes more lead to get into the water.
The organization also helps the city conduct affordability assessments for service line replacements, but Elevate is now worried about the future of funding for these programs.
“What we know is that even in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law package, which provided an influx of cash for water infrastructure, it's not enough. It has never been enough to meet the burden of lead service line replacement,” explained Anna-Lisa Gonzales Castle, water policy director at Elevate. “We know it is a bipartisan priority, and that voters care about safe water across both sides of the aisle. At the same time, there will need to be state and local investments.”
The Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative and Inflation Reduction Act were designed to ensure that at least 40% of environmental investments went to disadvantaged communities that were disproportionately affected by pollution. However, federal funding cuts have halted this approach.
As the Trump administration continues to freeze and withhold funds, an Inside Climate News analysis found that the cuts in spending have almost entirely targeted poor and minority communities. With federal funding drying up, other policy advisors also say that local funding streams need to be on the table.
“First of all, we would be asking the Illinois General Assembly to create a revenue stream,” Plotkin said. “One fund that we already have is the Lead Poisoning, Screening, Prevention, and Abatement Fund that has largely been towards lead paint abatement in particular, but we could designate that for general lead service line replacement.”
Plotkin also suggested a water bottle tax (though potentially regressive) and small fees on water bills to fund service line replacements. She also suggested making use of Chicago programs that provide free water filters or purchasing one for drinking water.
Chicago is now also required to provide homeowners with an annual notice if their home has a lead service line, and advocates are hopeful that public awareness can increase pressure to keep these programs funded.
As access to data portals, government websites, and public health studies becomes restricted, local organizations and alliances remain one of the most powerful tools to keep communities safe. Focusing on education and outreach is essential to ensuring these programs stick around, are improved upon, and are utilized by the people who need them.
While lead service lines may be buried under the ground, the evidence of their harm has become increasingly apparent for decades. Until Chicago finds a way to ensure these communities get the resources they need, the city’s most vulnerable residents will continue to pay the price of governmental neglect and lack of transparency.