On October 10, 2019, the Environmental
Protection Agency announced a proposed rule to significantly improve the actions water systems take to reduce lead in the nation’s drinking water.
This announcement is fitting as it comes during
the nationally recognized “Children’s Health
Month”. The EPA is taking a proactive and holistic approach to improving the current rule and claims the new proposal will provide the
following:
- Require water systems to act quicker to reduce lead levels
Improve transparency and communication with communities - More efficiently protect children and at-risk communities.
The proposal will focus on 6 keys areas that can be found here.
While this recent proposal does not currently change the existing action level of 15 ppb, the EPA is proposing a new lead trigger of 10 ppb which will compel water systems to react quicker to potential necessary changes.