Technical Support for Water Infrastructure
Projects in Direct Support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
In direct support of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Emerging Contaminants funding authorized by Congress through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, P.L. 117-58, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA researchers will be providing small and/or disadvantaged communities with the following technical support:
- Technical support for treatment options for emerging contaminants.
- Technical support for identifying lead service lines.
Lead Service Lines
It is estimated that there are approximately 10 million homes with lead service lines in the United States. Service lines are pipes that connect the home to the drinking water main. When these pipes are made from lead, they are referred to as lead service lines (LSLs). The 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) prohibited the installation of lead service lines, but there are still many homes and businesses with them. Lead at any level can cause health concerns, especially for children.
To protect public health, it is important for communities to understand where LSLs are so they can prioritize them for removal. However, this is especially difficult for older neighborhoods where records are difficult to find or there might be a long history of repairs.
Knowing where a community may have LSLs is critical to develop a replacement program. EPA researchers will be working with multiple communities across the nation on the best approaches to identify LSLs. These results will be used to develop practice guides and tools that all drinking water systems (utilities) can use to minimize cost and improve performance and ease of use.
Emerging Contaminants
Emerging contaminants, like PFAS, are challenging to drinking water systems across the country. Treatment for emerging contaminants is often not known, and when it is known, can be extremely costly. It is important to develop treatment options to ensure public health protection.
EPA researchers, working with numerous public water systems across the country, will collect long-term treatment data on the removal of emerging contaminants from drinking water. This information will be shared with and used to provide assistance to the partner systems. It will also be used to develop best practice guides and performance and cost estimate tools so water utilities across the nation can make informed treatment and operational choices.
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