Chicago, the American city with the most lead pipes, has begun the process of pipe removal under a voluntary, multiyear program from the city's department of water management and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“Chicago’s lead service lines are a legacy issue we need to start meaningfully confronting by moving in the right direction in a responsible way,” Lightfoot said at a news conference announcing the program September 9. “The new Lead Service Line Replacement Program stands as our equity-forward approach to providing residents the support they need, all while providing a foundation to continuously building on our commitment to addressing this important issue for the long term.”

2021年，芝加哥计划替换750个大约400,000个领先服务线，将房屋连接到街道主管。在市长Richard M. Daley和Rahm Emanuel的管理期间，这些类型的管道被其他类型的管道取代。

自愿界线服务更换计划将要求芝加哥市议会条例通过，其中Lightfoot表示她预计11月将会发生。为四口之家提供少于约72,000美元的房主，水测试显示一致的铅集中率为15余量，可申请免费更换。明年将涵盖1500万美元的赠款资金将涵盖2021年的更换，但该计划不够超出。选择聘请承包商进行工作的房主有资格获得约3,000美元的许可证豁免。Mayor Lightfoot表示，官员估计它将是85亿美元的计划。

“我们已经取代了数英里的衰老水和下水道电源多年来，几乎是一个百年的历史。当我们打开地面时，我们经常遇到意外的问题。这就是为什么一个项目涉及水主和铅服务线的项目同时进行的更换是如此重要的是，“水管理部门”兰迪·康纳专员说。“了解其他城市在他们的计划中学到的东西是非常有帮助的，但每个城市及其基础设施都不同。”

Congress banned lead water pipes in 1986, but previous mayors and the Chicago City Council have been reluctant to replace the service lines with Emanuel, Daley and, until recently, Lightfoot insisting that a corrosion-inhibiting chemical coating introduced into the water system for decades coated off the interior of the lead service lines and took care of the problem of lead leaching off of them and getting into drinking water.

没有联邦标准的草地d in tap water that can be allowed from individual homes. Utilities are considered to be in compliance with EPA regulations as long as 90% of the homes tested in a city have lead levels below 15 ppb, according to the agency's lead and copper rule, which was first set in 1991. The agency believed, at the time, that lead pipes could be managed with corrosion-inhibiting chemicals like the ones used in Chicago, although there have been revisions to the rule since.

弗吉尼亚科技教授Marc Edwardsshowedhow cherry picking which homes were tested in both Washington, DC, and Flint, Mich. could create an inaccurate picture that doesn't show how many are truly in violation of the 15-ppb standard. After Edwards' work in Flint, the statewide standard in Michigan was lowered to 10 ppb.

"We have learned the hard way that nobody drinking water from a lead pipe is safe— I applaud Chicago for taking the first small step on what will be a very long journey," Edwards says. Edwards and his team from Virginia Tech have sampled in Chicago, particularly on the South Side, and found that routine flushing does not reduce lead there as it does in other cities.

在2016年10月白皮书中，EPA承认该标准不足以保护消费者，不仅是因为15-PPB阈值已经满足了90％的标准部分。

Chicago conducts tests in just 50 homes every three years — the minimum required by the EPA. Most of the homes tested are owned by water management department employees or retirees living on the northwest and southwest sides. Results from some of Chicago's free testing kit program tests show lead-contaminated water has been found in at least one home in all 77 community areas in Chicago.

“The current structure of the rule compels additional protective actions on the part of a water system only after a potential problem has been identified, which may create a disincentive for utilities to identify potential problems with lead and copper in the drinking-water system,” the EPA said in the 2016 white paper.

Mayor Emanuel spent more than $475 million throughout his three terms as mayor from 2011 to 2019 replacing water mains in Chicago. He also doubled water rates to pay off debt accrued by the projects, but consistently stopped short of replacing the service lines. It's not known exactly how many homes in Chicago have lead service lines, but it's believed to be close to the 400,000 number the department of water management estimates. For comparison, 125,000 homes have them in Detroit.