Michigan revised its Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) in 2018 to include a new sampling protocol intended to better measure the amount of lead in water from lead service lines. Water utilities completed their first round of sampling using this new protocol in 2019. To help determine the impact of new sampling protocols, my team and I conducted an analysis of the first year of sampling results which was recently published in an open access article in the journal Water Science.

The EPA Science Advisory Board held a meeting on May 11, 2020 reviewing EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule proposed revisions. I chose to focus my comments on areas where it is critical for a Lead and Copper Rule that protects public health to be based on science…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), with the public comment period ending on February 12, 2020. In the proposal, EPA requested comments on whether water systems with lead service lines should be required to collect tap samples that are representative of water that was in contact with lead service lines during the 6-hour stagnation period. The EPA LCR and the proposed LCRR requires water systems to collect the first liter of water from the tap after the stagnation period; this first liter typically does not include water from the lead service line, which is the largest source of lead in contact with drinking water. The first liter sample can potentially show the risk of lead release from internal plumbing, but it does not capture the highest risk water in a building with a lead service line.

My opinion on what we need to do next to address lead in drinking water in Michigan. New sampling data shows there is more lead getting into our drinking water than we previously thought. Michigan will be a national leader for removing lead from drinking water.