EPA Announces $3 Billion Funding for States to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water

Exposure to lead risks hampering IQ and school performance among children.

As the hole is filled in in the background, a piece of an old lead water pipe sits next to a new copper pipe at a home on Greencroft in Lansing, Mich., on Jan. 22, 2016. Dave Wasinger/Lansing State Journal via AP

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will give $3 billion to states to reduce the presence of lead in drinking water, the agency said in a Nov. 25 statement.

“This funding will accelerate progress in finding and removing lead pipes (also known as lead service lines that deliver water to homes, schools, and businesses),” the EPA said. “Lead pipes are the key source of lead—a potent neurotoxin particularly harmful to children—in drinking water.”