Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister joined leaders from the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, to kick off the first phase of their Lincoln Lead Water Service Line Replacement project.
The event took place at a residence in Lincoln’s Woods Park neighborhood. The home is among the initial 200 properties within the city to have its water service line replaced at no cost to the property owner. These homes were selected based on EPA-recommended criteria, including property records, blood lead levels in children, social vulnerability data, and lead exposure risk due to existing service lines.
“Today, I had the chance to see firsthand how EPA’s historic water infrastructure funding is improving the everyday lives of Nebraskans,” McCollister said. “We are thankful for the opportunity to celebrate this milestone with Lincoln and look forward to all the important work to follow. Lincoln’s commendable and important steps to reduce lead exposure serve as a model for communities across our region.”
“Thanks to historic federal resources and our strong partnerships with the EPA and State of Nebraska, the City of Lincoln is leading the way toward making every water service line in our community free of lead and providing safe, healthy water for our children and families for years to come,” said Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.
The lead service line replacement program is part of the city’s Lead Safe Lincoln initiative and is funded through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocations to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DW SRF). Through a $32.6 million DW SRF loan, Lincoln plans to replace approximately 2,000 service lines over five years.
In May 2024, EPA announced an allotment of over $28 million from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Nebraska's lead service line identification and replacement efforts. Over three years, more than $85 million has been allocated from this law for such replacements in Nebraska's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
Lead can cause serious health impacts including irreversible harm to brain development in children. To address this issue nationwide, President Biden has committed to replacing every lead pipe in the country through funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law via EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). This $3 billion funding announcement supports this commitment as part of broader environmental justice initiatives like Justice40 which aims for 40% of overall benefits from certain federal investments flowing towards disadvantaged communities affected by pollution.
This program aims to replace up to 1.7 million lead pipes nationwide ensuring clean drinking water for American families.
