Texas has one of the highest percentages of lead-based water lines in the nation; the EPA estimates that fixing this issue, along with other issues with the water infrastructure, may cost more than $60 billion.
The EPA determined that more than 647,000 water lines in Texas—or roughly 7% of the state’s total—are made of lead in the first countrywide study of lead-based water lines.
It provides information that environmentalists have been trying to estimate for years with the few data that is currently available. It is the first comprehensive estimate of lead-based service lines.
Texas has the fifth-highest percentage of water pipes made of lead https://t.co/JwW3zyNv60
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) April 5, 2023
Because there were so few inventories and utilities (reported), Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas, remarked, “We were operating in the dark.” “Our new survey revealed more (lead service lines in Texas) than twice as much as we previously believed,” the researcher said.
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9.2 million lead service lines, according to the EPA, are present throughout the country. In terms of lead-based lines, Florida probably has the largest percentage, at around 13%, followed by Illinois (11%), Ohio (8%), Pennsylvania (7.5%), and Texas (7%).
Children are especially vulnerable to the dangers of lead in drinking water. There is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood, according to scientists; even low levels have been linked to harm to the central nervous systems of children, learning impairments, and hearing impairment.
Lead can contaminate drinking water when very acidic water, for instance, corrodes lead-based pipelines or plumbing fittings like faucets. Cities and homes constructed prior to 1986, when stricter rules were not necessary, are the most likely places to find lead pipes.
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