Chicago Is Way Behind On Replacing Lead Pipes

Chicago has more lead water pipes than most U.S. cities, and nearly two-thirds of children under 6 are exposed to lead in drinking water. Efforts to make the city's water lead-free have been sluggish. A Biden-era mandate requires cities to replace 20,000 lead pipes a year by 2027. Chicago is set to replace less than half of that number this year, and estimates suggest the city’s water systems won’t be lead-free until 2076. Reset discusses with Inside Climate News reporter Keerti Gopal, WBEZ environment reporter Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco and Natural Resources Defense Council senior policy advocate Chakena Perry. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.