President Biden has announced a plan to “strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems to replace lead service lines within 10 years."

The Biden administration has announced a proposal to “strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems to replace lead service lines within 10 years,” the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the White House, more than 9.2 million American households connect to water through lead pipes and lead service lines and, due to “decades of inequitable infrastructure development and underinvestment,” many Americans are at risk of lead exposure.

“There is no safe level of exposure to lead, particularly for children, and eliminating lead exposure from the air, water, and homes is a crucial component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic commitment to advancing environmental justice,” the Biden administration said.

  • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    It’s such a staggering amount of work and money that I think is hard for most people to comprehend. Though, if dispersed properly, will benefit local workers as they usually require they get paid prevailing wage. Which can be pretty fucking high depending on where you live.

    And even once all of the lead service lines are replaced, that’s just from main to the meter at most. All of the internal fixtures are the owner’s responsibility, and you better believe tons of old houses are still full of lead pipes.

    This is something that is going to take decades, and you’re absolutely right that we should have started decades ago.

    • pete_the_cat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      It’s just another case of “it costs too much to fix it, so just keep slapping a bandaid on it and kick it down the road”, just like the rest of our infrastructure. Yet we have billions available to “defend” ourselves 🙄

      • Wrench Wizard@lemmy.world
        3·
        1 year ago

        More than billions, I think our defense budget was $766 billion in 2022 alone, at around 12% which was actually lower than 2021 which cost taxpayers 15% and 801 billion.

        It’s… it’s a big big problem, especially in a time where the U.S hasn’t had a war on it’s soil in a long, long time.

        I get that we go to other countries and help out a bit get involved but we have issues on our own turf killing us from the inside.

        • pete_the_cat@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          Yeah, I just saw a YouTube video where the US has “frozen” the access to mega-yachts owned by Russian billionaires, but they can’t seize them because they can’t legally prove that the billionaires own them since they’re registered in one country and owned by a shell corporation in another country. So if we (and other countries who are doing this) can eventually prove that they own said yachts, we can sell them, but until then we have to pay the constant upkeep on them to keep them in pristine condition… Which costs like 10 million a year per yacht…and we have multiple of them🤦‍♂️

          No money to pay our citizens more, invest in our own infrastructure, or fund programs that our citizens need!

          • Wrench Wizard@lemmy.world
            2·
            1 year ago

            Nope, none of that. Can’t even support our veterans that fought in the past wars that taxpayers had to pay trillions for but they can afford the salaries of the soldiers currently out there. It’s like when a corporation cuts the 401k’s of thousands of employees then turns around and hires thousands more…

            The yachts ordeal is yet another example. All this $ frivolously spent on excess before basic needs of citizens are being met. The U.S could damned near be a utopia if we’d elect some people with common sense and quit voting in corrupt politicians.

            I could rant about this for hours as it’s just basic stuff. It’s petty and boring so read on at your own risk.

            We can’t afford guns until the needs of the common people have been met.

            We can’t afford to imprison people for trivial stuff when they’re not an active threat to society.

            Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.

            Food is a right. No one should have to decide between paying the rent and eating a proper meal.

            Housing is a right and shouldn’t be a for profit industry. Buying up tons of land in a scheme to get wealthy isn’t good for anyone.

            Banks just… shouldn’t exist the way that they do. Neither should the credit system, predatory loaning practices etc. Prices just keep going up due to this.

            If banks/credit ceased to exist and loans stopped being made, then the price of things would have to adjust to reflect what the average person can actually afford which just makes sense right? If an average person can’t make enough to afford their own home at regular wages within a few years by their self then either they aren’t getting paid enough or asking prices are way too damned high.

            There are just some practices in this world that are bad for it. Everyone knows the shit but no one will do anything because the people with the power to actually enforce change are benefitting too much from the same system to kill it.

            Oh, and another one. Flint Michigan is supposedly enacting an (iirc) $9-10 million dollar bill to repair/replace their pipes in order for the people their to have clean drinking water and not get sick or die from lead poisoning. $9-10 mill would make all that difference yet our government won’t pay it even though we’re spending the better part of a trillion each year blowing things up. How petty is that? Can’t take a penny out of our war money so people can have clean drinking water… pathetic!

            • pete_the_cat@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              1 year ago

              Yep it’s disgusting. They’re only willing to put money into things that will (potentially) make them money.

                • pete_the_cat@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  2·
                  1 year ago

                  Thanks same to you 🤣

                  I wanted something completely different from what I used on Reddit (I didn’t think I would still be using it 11 years later so I went with the name I used with everything), and couldn’t think of anything, so I used the name of one of my 3 year old niece’s books hahaha

                  • Wrench Wizard@lemmy.world
                    2·
                    9 months ago

                    Haha! Idk why but I somehow love you as a person already lol, that’s all I needed to know you’re a good dude or dudette

    • Asafum@feddit.nl
      1·
      1 year ago

      I actually just listened to a podcast about NYCs water supply. To back up your claim, they started pipe #3 around the 1970s and only recently finished (or should have by 2021, the episode was from before then)

      • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
        3·
        1 year ago

        Portland replaced most of its water and sewer pipes, AND built a massive 21 ft diameter sewer bypass and storage line 250 ft below the city over the course of about 10 years. When I was living there, the city went up and down every building on every street in my neighborhood to put in new sewer and water connections. Those crews were fast.

        NYC is just too big, old and bureaucratic compared to other US cities.