A decade ago, about 100,000 Flint residents were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water. The Flint water crisis has become a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of negligence and allowing pipe materials that have been banned since 1988 to fester in our water systems. 

If this catastrophe had a bright side, it’s that it led to the revision of Michigan's Lead and Copper Rule in 2018, the nation's most protective regulation aimed at reducing lead exposure in drinking water. 

Safe Water Engineering, with University of Michigan Water Center - Graham Sustainability Institute, developed a suite of resources to help local elected officials understand the Michigan Lead and Copper Rule when it was revised in 2018.

Most Michigan water utilities that have lead service lines are required to collect Lead and Copper samples every year between June 1 and September 30. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) starts posting data here when they find water utilities that exceed the lead action level (15 ppb) at the end of each sampling period.

"Removing Michigan’s Lead Water Service Lines: Economic Savings, Health Benefits, And Improved Health Equity” published in Health Affairs, August 2023 

The Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan and Safe Water Engineering, LLC recently conducted a program evaluation of a water leak repair pilot program initiated by the State of Michigan to repair leaks in individual homes in Highland Park and Benton Harbor, Michigan.  

Water utilities across Michigan are ramping up lead service line replacement work this year to comply with the Michigan Lead and Copper Rule requirement to begin replacing lead service lines at an average of 5% per year starting in 2021.

The American Water Works Association prepared a standard for replacing and flushing lead service lines to identify best practices and guide water utilities through the process.