Lead is bad for humans—especially pregnant women, pets, and wildlife—and can severely affect the mental and physical development of children younger than six. Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body, often over months or years. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal. Many District residents unwittingly ingest lead through drinking and cooking water that comes through lead water pipes that are found in the District.
According to DC Water, an extensive review in May 2023 found that there are some 42,000 lead service lines across DC. The accompanying diagram shows the immensity of the problem with red indicating “Verified Lead,” orange indicating “Suspected Lead,” yellow indicating “No Information,” green “Suspected Non-Lead” and blue being “Verified Non-Lead.” The District is a mishmash of red, orange, and yellow.
According to Sherri Lewis, a DC Water representative, “The highest concentration of lead service lines and replacements is in Wards 4 and 5, with DC Water prioritizing replacements in areas with a high number of lead service lines, historically underserved communities, and those with vulnerable populations.”
How Do You Know If You Have Lead Pipes in Your Home?
A first stop in determining if you have lead pipes in your home is the DC Water Service Line Map at https://geo.dcwater.com/Lead/. Enter your address to see if there are lead service lines on your property, on District (public) property, both, or neither, when and how this information was gathered, or if there’s no available information. Homes constructed after 1986 and larger multi-family homes are less likely to have any lead water pipes. A District law also requires landlords to disclose to tenants whether a given property contains any known lead pipes and the results of any lead testing. It requires the same of homeowners with respect to potential home buyers before any sales occur.
If the map indicates that you do have lead water pipes, DC Water offers several options to replace these pipes.
Lead Free DC
Lead Free DC was initiated in 2019 with a goal of replacing all District lead water service pipes by 2030. Since the program’s initiation, DC Water has discovered that there are many more lead water pipes across the District than initially documented, so that timeline will likely be extended.
DC Water Initiated Lead Replacements
Under this program, DC Water replaces lead service pipes in conjunction with other construction and capital improvement projects across the District. During these projects, replacement on private property is free for all residents—regardless of income. You can check out the Lead Free DC Construction Dashboard to see if there are any planned projects in your neighborhood and when they are tentatively scheduled.
Customer Initiated Lead Replacements
DC Water also offers two additional, customer-initiated programs to replace lead service lines—private-side only replacements and voluntary full replacements.
Private side Only Lead Replacements
For residents with a lead pipe on private property, and a non-lead pipe in public space, the Lead Pipe Replacement Assistance Program (LPRAP) provides a free or discounted replacement. The program, in partnership with the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), provides ALL eligible homeowners enrolled in the program with a 100% discount on their private service line replacement.
Voluntary Full Lead Replacements
If both the public and private portions of the service line are lead and the neighborhood is not currently scheduled for a replacement as part of a capital improvement project, DC Water customers can enroll in the Voluntary Replacement Program. Under this program, customers who are willing to voluntarily pay for their private side replacement can skip ahead of the program’s replacement schedule. Similar to replacement during DC Water initiated construction projects, DC Water will pay for all work in public space and coordinate work so both the public and private pipes are replaced at the same time. The property owner pays for work on private property. Per DC Water, the cost to voluntarily replace a lead pipe through the Voluntary Full Pipe Replacement Program varies based on how far the property line is from the house and currently averages between $2,500-$3,500.
In 2020, I looked at DC Water’s lead map and found that the status of the pipes on my Capitol Hill home was listed as unknown on both the public and private side. I worked with DC Water and found an approved contractor who brought a crew to examine my pipes. They first dug a hole on the public side in front of my house and found it was lead. I nervously watched as they dug a hole on my property (the private side) and was relieved when they found a copper pipe. I celebrated by buying doughnuts and coffee for the crew and watched as they replaced the public space pipe.
Lewis, the DC Water spokesperson notes, “Through the Lead-Free DC Program, DC Water has replaced more than 6,300 lead service lines in the District and is committed to removing all lead pipes. We continue to secure funding for this program and to educate District residents about the program and the health and safety risks of leaving lead pipes in the ground. When replacing service lines, we will restore a property to its original state or better, including landscaping, drywall, bricks, concrete and pavement.”
Do you have lead pipes leading to your house? Do your neighbors? Help spread the word about DC Water’s Lead-Free DC initiative—and maybe buy some doughnuts for those contractors who come out and do the hard excavation work.
Catherine Plume is a lifelong environmentalist, a writer, and a member of the Sierra Club DC Chapter ExCom. Perspectives expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent the positions of that organization.
