Lead pipes have been illegal for in-house water plumbing for a very long time. Even older houses that were built before regulations have been replaced in almost every home in the USA.
It’s the buried infrastructure that has not been fully replaced, in part because cold, treated water does not leech lead into the supply very quickly. Part of the reason Flint became a disaster is that the city decided to switch from Lake Huron, which was treated and protected, to the Flint River, where the water needed to be treated at the Flint water treatment facility.
Unfortunately, the Flint water treatment facility was outdated and insufficient, and the Flint River was far more polluted and corrosive. The lower pH and contaminants dissolved lead from the pipes that were previously stable, and there were also dangerous levels of bacteria causing infections.
If the city had remained on the treated Lake Huron water supply, it probably would not have been noticed and the lead pipes would still be in use today (as they are in an alarming number of places today).
Ah, so the issue isn’t the in-house plumbing, but the plumbing leading to the house. Hence the “neighborhood” part.
Lead pipes have been illegal for in-house water plumbing for a very long time. Even older houses that were built before regulations have been replaced in almost every home in the USA.
It’s the buried infrastructure that has not been fully replaced, in part because cold, treated water does not leech lead into the supply very quickly. Part of the reason Flint became a disaster is that the city decided to switch from Lake Huron, which was treated and protected, to the Flint River, where the water needed to be treated at the Flint water treatment facility.
Unfortunately, the Flint water treatment facility was outdated and insufficient, and the Flint River was far more polluted and corrosive. The lower pH and contaminants dissolved lead from the pipes that were previously stable, and there were also dangerous levels of bacteria causing infections.
If the city had remained on the treated Lake Huron water supply, it probably would not have been noticed and the lead pipes would still be in use today (as they are in an alarming number of places today).