a nonprofit media outlet
March 13, 2023

#171: Funding To Fight Lead: State & Local Policy

State and local policies play a central role in financing of lead service line replacement. The ability of utilities to use public funds for work on private property is often the key challenge.

State and local policies play a central role in financing of lead service line replacement. The ability of utilities to use public funds for work on private property is often the key challenge.

This episode is part of a series, Funding To Fight Lead. There are perhaps 10 million lead service lines in the ground in the U.S. and it may cost $50 billion to remove them. The series explores financing lead service line replacement, technical assistance for under-resourced communities, and examples of successful approaches.

This episode is about the role of state and local policy.

State and local policies play a central role in financing of lead service line replacement. The ability of utilities to use public funds for work on private property is often the key challenge, as discussed in this episode with Tom Neltner of the Environmental Defense Fund. He cites Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as examples of states that have adopted policies to facilitate financing of the work.

Successful funding approaches at the local level are also highlighted in this episode by Kareem Adeem of Newark Water and Sewer and Nancy Quirk of Green Bay Water.

 

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. This episode is made possible by support from the WaterNow Alliance and Environmental Policy Innovation Center and is sponsored by:

LeadCopperRule.com helps utilities proactively manage lead communications and public information emergencies. Visit leadcopperrule.com

120Water offers cloud-based software and digital sampling kits to help water systems and states to execute lead programs. Visit 120water.com

BlueConduit has developed cutting-edge, predictive machine learning software to effectively locate lead service lines. Visit blueconduit.com