Some cities could be left behind on lead pipe replacements

ST. LOUIS (AP) — In many cities, no one knows where the lead pipes lie underground. That's important because lead pipes contaminate drinking water. After the lead crisis in Flint, officials in Michigan accelerated efforts to locate their pipes, a first step toward removal.

But other places are moving more slowly.

That means as billions of dollars in new federal funding becomes available to address the problem, some places are in a better position than others to quickly apply for funds and start digging.

Those that wait are at risk of being left behind.

“The issue right now is we want to reduce the time that vulnerable folks are living with lead exposure,” said Eric Schwartz, co-CEO of BlueConduit, which uses computer modeling to help communities predict where their lead pipes are.

In Iowa, for example, only a handful of cities have located their lead water lines and so far only one – Dubuque – has asked for newly-available federal funds to remove them. State officials still expressed confidence they will find their lead lines by the federal government’s 2024 deadline and communities will have time to apply for funds.

Lead in the body can lower IQ, stunt development and cause behavior problems in children. Lead pipes can leach into drinking water. Removing them eliminates the threat.

There are millions of lead pipes in the ground, installed decades ago, that carry tap water to homes and businesses. They are concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast but are present across much of the country. Scattershot record keeping means many cities don’t know which of their water pipes are made of lead versus PVC or copper.

Some places like Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin, have managed to remove theirs. But it’s an expensive problem and historically there’s been little federal...