While water leaving a treatment plant doesn’t have any lead in it, sometimes it travels through service lines made from lead. Over time, those pipes can corrode and contaminate the water we drink posing serious health concerns – especially for young kids. Exposure to even low levels of lead can hurt a child’s development by negatively impacting their speech, hearing, and ability to succeed in school.
Do you remember what happened in Flint, Michigan? ➡️ After changing its municipal water supply source, water distribution pipes began to corrode and seep lead and other contaminants into the drinking water. This exposure had serious health implications for Flint residents.
Let me be clear – what happened in Flint is unlikely to occur here in Iowa.We’ve learned a lot since then – but this crisis does highlight the critical need to replace any lead pipes across our community to keep Iowans safe.
That’s why today I introduced the bipartisan Safe Drinking Water for Disadvantaged Communities Act to make additional funding available to help underprivileged areas make necessary lead pipeline replacements to keep Iowa families safe.
Clean drinking water is critical to ensuring Iowans have a safe environment to raise their families.