Albany – Today, a coalition of labor, local government, and environmental organizations sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo calling on him to increase funding for the Lead Service Line Replacement Program
(LSLRP) to $100 million. The program helps municipalities replace aging
water pipes that can leach toxic levels of lead into drinking water and
is funded through the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. Since 2017, the program has allocated $20 million to 25 municipalities across the state.
Lead service lines, which connect the water mains beneath city streets
to the internal plumbing in residential buildings, are considered the
greatest contributor to lead in drinking water. Through the grants
provided by the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, the entire lead
service line is dug out of the ground and a safer pipe material is used
as a replacement. New York has one of the oldest housing stocks in the
nation, and it is known that homes built before 1986 have a higher
chance of having lead service lines.
“While the initial investment in the LSLRP has been a positive first
step, with an estimated 360,000 lead service lines across New York in
need of replacement, the program must be scaled up to meet the needs of
New York municipalities. Given that the total cost of replacing New
York’s known lead services lines reaches at least $1 billion, a $100
million investment would substantially reduce the number of lead service
lines in our state.”
Rob Hayes, clean water associate for Environmental Advocates of New York
said, “There is no safe level of lead in drinking water… any amount of
exposure is a threat to human health. Municipalities are doing all they
can to keep lead out of their water, but as long as there are lead pipes
beneath our feet, contamination is a constant threat. The safest
solution is to increase funding so communities can proactively eliminate
these dangerous pipes rather than reacting once the system fails.”
Click here for the full announcement.
Source: EANY
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