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Environmental Law Monitor

Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.

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• Environmental Law Monitor, EPA, Water Contamination

Safer Water Ahead: EPA Announces Funding to Replace Lead Service Lines

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The Environmental Protection Agency announced Nov. 25 that $3 billion in funding would be made available for states through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) geared towards programs to reduce lead exposure in drinking water. The goal is to fund programs that will find and remove lead service lines that deliver drinking water to communities.

As part of its process, the EPA collected updated lead service line data and released a new dashboard that shows the latest data on lead service lines in the United States. The data for this dashboard comes from the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), which required, among other things, that public water systems provide a service line inventory to their primary state agency by October 16, 2024.

The LCRR submissions required that service lines be categorized as follows: lead service lines or pipes made from lead; galvanized pipes requiring replacement or pipes made from galvanized steel; non-lead service lines, and water service lines made with unknown materials. Note: Galvanized pipes requiring replacement under the guidelines were treated as lead service lines, as lead can adhere to galvanized steel lines.

The EPA further estimates that there are four million total lead service lines in the United States. This figure comes from the updated 2025 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA) and includes both active known lead service lines and anticipated lead service lines.  Accordingly, funding will be based on the latest information about these approximately four million lead service lines.

An additional $1.1 billion from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) will also be allocated to this lead service line replacement initiative. These funds can be used for “lead service line replacement (LSLR) and associated activities like identification, planning, design, and replacement.”

The DWSRF was established as part of the1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act to help achieve various objectives related to providing safe and clean drinking water in the United States. From its implementation to 2019, more than $41.1 billion in funds have been provided to states.

The full announcement can be found here.

The new dashboard with lead service line data can be found here.

Additional Information regarding the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund can be found here.