President Joe Biden announced Thursday $3 billion toward identifying and replacing theĀ nationā€™s unsafeĀ leadĀ pipes,Ā a long-sought move to improve public health and clean drinking waterĀ that will be paidĀ for by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Biden unveiled the new fundingĀ in North Carolina, a battleground state Democrats have lost to Donald Trump in the past two presidential electionsĀ but are feeling more bullish toward due to an abortion measure on the stateā€™s ballot this November.

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The Environmental Protection Agency will invest $3 billion in theĀ leadĀ pipe effort annually through 2026, Administrator Michael Regan told reporters. He said that nearly 50% of the funding will go to disadvantaged communities ā€“ and a fact sheet from the Biden administration noted that ā€œlead exposure disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income families.ā€

  • bluGill@kbin.social
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    2 months ago

    We stopped using lead in the 80s - the existing pipes are mostly still there and working just fine. If you are in a building or city built before 1985 assume there is lead in the plumbing someplace and take action. The more important thing you can do is let drinking water run for a minute before drinking (or install a RO drinking water system that will remove lead - regular filters will not - RO is most common of that that will).

    With a little care (much of it chemistry - meaning your water department - not much lead will leach from your pipes and you are okay. Okay should not be confused with good, 0 lead is what you want. However it isnā€™t feasible to replace all pipes in a day and so step one is doing as little damage as possible, then we reduce even that.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      install a RO drinking water

      People will get one for their whole house, which is great unless your home has leaded pipesā€¦

      It sounds like something people would think of, but they often donā€™t.

      If your house has leaded pipes, you can get a small RO either by your sink, or before the hose that connects to your fridge is a better plan. It doesnā€™t have to be by your fridge, it can be where the hose meets pipe which is usually out of the way.

      The real solution is replacing the piping, but that shits gets expensive.

      A small RO to your fridge is doable even when renting, and if you get tests done and itā€™s high, some landlords would pay it just to show theyā€™re not liable and did something to address the issue if itā€™s high.

      • bluGill@kbin.social
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        2 months ago

        A whole house ro filter is evpensive, so I doubt most will install one vs a drinking water system. Most plumbers wonā€™t know about a whole house system much less sell one.

        unless you live in an area where the water is so bad your showers dosenā€™t get you clean. Then you can get one - but you should have one.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Because of urban sprawl lots of homes in cities have wells still.

          House built in the 40s before city water had expanded can still be on a well, and septic tanks.

          Like lead pipes itā€™s something that just never got updated.

          Although because of the risk of old septic tanks collapsing, some cities have programs where if you hook up the to city services for switching and filling in the septic can get spread over like 20-30 years as an add on to your water bill.

          • bluGill@kbin.social
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            2 months ago

            there is normally nothing wrong with well water. I have lab reports on my current well to prove it.