The city of Chicago has lead water pipes 2-3x more than any other city in the nation.  Approximately 400,000 pipes across the city endanger families and citizens daily. Lead contamination is especially damaging to the vulnerable populations of pregnant women and children. Exposure can lead to deficits in development, intelligence, brain and nervous system damage, and so much more. Currently it is estimated about ⅔ of children younger than 6 years old are exposed to lead. Lead pipe water exposure disproportionately affects minority communities and those lower socioeconomic statuses, as these communities are faced with dated infrastructure and poor allocation of detection resources.

 Although there are current efforts to test lead pipes within city neighborhoods, they are clearly ineffective. Within the 2 year time span from 2020-2022, only 280 lead pipes were replaced. Lead testing kits are often provided from the city, however findings have shown that majority white-populations have higher levels of testing than predominantly Black or Hispanic communities, who face the highest levels of exposure. The incremental removal of lead pipes and lack of initiative leaves thousands of citizens at the hands of continual lead poison. 

 We call upon Commissioner Randy Conner of the Chicago Department of Water Management and Mayor Brandon Johnson to take immediate action by expanding access to free lead testing kits focusing on higher exposed communities. We plead for transparency to communities about efforts, and push for the prioritization of clean and safe water for the current and future generations of Chicago.