Two summers ago, a typical underground problem exploded into national controversy when Newark water filters failed to remove lead from residents’ tap water.
Headlines compared New Jersey’s largest city to Flint, Michigan, where an infamous water crisis struck years earlier.
Officials including Governor Phil Murphy admitted that the lead pipes that polluted Newark’s water were not just in town but in homes – and hundreds of schools – across the state. It was a decades-old problem that New Jersey repeatedly failed to solve.
Along with advocates for clean water and child health, leaders are committed to making a difference.
Now, environmentalists say, New Jersey is at a tipping point when it comes to eradicating lead, a dangerous metal used in older pipes and paints that can permanently damage a child’s brain.
Newark is close to completing its lead pipe replacement program, removing more than 20,000 pipes in about two years. For comparison: Flint has replaced around 10,000 pipes in five years.
And lead pipes across the state would be replaced with safer pipelines over the next decade, under a bill the legislature sent to the governor on Thursday.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, New Jersey would only be the third state to require the replacement of lead pipes.
“The lead service line replacement bill is a revolutionary step in making New Jersey lead-free,” said Chris Sturm, managing director of policy and water at New Jersey Future.
Sturm said replacing lead pipes is “the most important step towards clean drinking water”.
“We have come a long way,” she added.
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Replace lead pipes
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, there are an estimated 350,000 leading service lines in New Jersey, which are among the highest of any state.
The bill sent to Murphy’s desk requires a full inventory of these pipes and requires water utilities to replace 10% of the pipes every year over a 10 year period. Utility companies can apply for an extension for a further five years for a total replacement period of 15 years if necessary, the invoice says.
According to the bill, private and state water utilities could raise fees for replacing lead service lines, which are the pipes that run underground from water lines into homes.
Murphy will likely sign the law. In 2019, he endorsed a 10-year replacement plan presented by Jersey Water Works, a coalition of proponents who recommended a way to improve drinking water.
Of the five states with the most lead pipes, only two others – Michigan and Illinois – have set schedules for replacements, and of those, New Jersey is the most aggressive at 10 years old, according to Tom Neltner, director of chemicals policy for the Environmental Defense Fund.
Senate sponsor of the bill, Burlington County Democrat Sen. Troy Singleton, said he hoped the bill will mark a turning point in New Jersey’s decade-long lead pipe problem.
“We’re so far behind and the problem is so big,” he said. “I think this is a good down payment to try and fix the problem.”
Lead pipes, which were banned in 1986, can still be found in older homes. Lead can leak out of pipes and contaminate water, which is especially harmful to children. No amount of lead is safe, and consumption can lead to developmental and neurological delays.
Usually utilities add chemicals to the water to keep lead from getting into the water, but the only way to eliminate the lead threat is to remove the pipes yourself.
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Newark approaches the goal
Newark has already replaced over 20,000 lead pipes and the water authorities there expect to complete the replacement project by September.
“I’m thrilled,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in an interview. “And, more importantly, relieved that we were able to achieve this amid everything that was going on” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We kept our heads down and focused on getting this thing done,” he added. “I think that’s all you can do.”
Work continued during the pandemic, which initially slowed pipe replacement, the mayor said. The city cut lead levels found in water tests by two-thirds between the 2019 crisis and the latter half of 2020, according to test results from the state environmental ministry.
Tests in the last six months of 2020 found lead levels of 13 parts per billion, just below the federal threshold of 15 parts per billion that requires corrective action.
Newark must complete the pipe replacement and continue to provide free water filters and testing as part of a legal dispute with the Newark Education Workers and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Anthony Diaz, co-founder of the Newark Water Coalition, said replacing pipes is a first step in reversing the city’s polluted water problems. He said the city should launch a public awareness campaign to help residents feel confident that their water is now safe.
“It’s strange that I use bottled water when I know the lead is okay,” said Diaz.
“If I do that as someone who knows science, then other people will. I think we need to talk about this. ”
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How to pay for the pipe replacement
It is estimated that the total cost of replacing the state’s lead water pipelines is approximately $ 2 billion.
Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney backed some of that funding, but the pandemic – and fears it would ruin state finances led to the decision to borrow $ 4 billion – shifted the focus from safe drinking water.
While these costs may seem astronomical, the state is in an enviable position with $ 10 billion in net income and over $ 6 billion in the bank from the U.S. bailout plan.
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Legislators have started spending that $ 6 billion but haven’t yet earmarked any for lead pipe replacement.
Another financial windfall could come as part of President Joe Biden’s US Jobs Plan infrastructure package, which specifically addresses the removal of lead pipes.
However, this measure is being cut in negotiations with Republicans in Congress who are averse to the $ 2 trillion price tag.
Some communities use their own stimulus funds to remove dangerous pipes. Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia has allocated approximately $ 2 million of the $ 26 million dollar bailout plan to the rescue plan to replace lead pipes in about 250 homes.
Venezia estimates that there are around 1,500 leading service lines in the municipality of 49,000 inhabitants.
“We are very grateful,” said the mayor. “If we put more money into the new infrastructure bill, we can accelerate the process and tie up and take care of more money.”
Proponents hope some of the funding will help cities where residents may not be able to bear the increased water prices to remove the pipes.
“There is still a lot to be done,” said Neltner of the Environmental Defense Fund.
“A critical next step is securing funding for communities struggling with unaffordable water prices.”
Stacey Barchenger is a reporter at the New Jersey Statehouse. For full access to their work on the New Jersey policymakers and power structure, subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @sbarchenger
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