MAYORS
Commit to Action: Set Goals to Eliminate Lead Pipes
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Make a public commitment and set a timeline
Elected officials’ public commitment is key to accelerating lead service line replacement across the country.
Make a public commitment to eliminate lead pipes
Making a public commitment will demonstrate you are dedicated to protecting residents’ health and supporting your water utility staff, no matter where they are in the lead service line replacement process. See our Mayoral Action Map to learn which communities are committed to removing lead pipes.
Set clear deadlines to complete lead pipe replacement
While the 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) set a federal timeline requiring most water systems to replace lead service lines (LSLs) in 10 years, potential changes to federal regulations can create uncertainty for utilities already working on replacements. Mayors and local elected officials can lead by setting clear, community-wide deadlines that protect public health, reflect local capacity, and offer long-term certainty. By establishing realistic yet ambitious timelines, local leaders can keep projects on track, support utilities in planning and budgeting, and demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting public health. Clear deadlines also create accountability, reduce uncertainty around federal requirements, and help maintain momentum toward safer drinking water for all.
Leverage the power of shared learning platforms
There is power in coalitions. Learning from other communities that have seen positive results is the first step to exploring what success can look like in your community. By sharing lessons learned, communities can access valuable case studies, best practices, and innovative strategies that have proven effective elsewhere. These insights can help streamline planning, avoid common pitfalls, and accelerate progress toward successful outcomes.
Set intentions with your proposed budget
Local elected officials can use their proposed budgets to signal a clear commitment to lead service line replacement (LSLR) in their communities. By explicitly allocating funds for planning, community outreach, and LSLR efforts, officials not only demonstrate their intent to act but also provide the essential resources utilities need to carry out the work. Budgeting in this way promotes accountability and shows residents that replacing LSLs is a local priority backed by tangible support.
Develop a communications campaign
A strong communications campaign is essential for raising awareness and mobilizing community support for lead pipe replacement efforts. By using a mix of traditional and digital outreach strategies, local governments can ensure that residents stay informed, engaged, and empowered to take action. Some strategies can include:
- Press statements and press events
- Announcements on the city’s website
- QR codes and flyers
- Social media posts and podcasts
- Direct mailers
- Town hall meetings and community meetings at schools, libraries, community centers, and local parks
- Use of existing community media and communications networks, such as the community-led radio program in Benton Harbor
- Front door hangers
- Canvassing by youth or other groups
- Digital boards and yard signs (visuals)
- Commercials
- Agreements with television and radio stations for a city-wide commitment campaign, such as Toledo, Ohio’s #419 GETTHELEADOUT
Toolbox
Key Action 2
Identify key partners and roles
Successfully implementing a lead service line replacement program requires thoughtful planning, strong coordination, and active engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Each community has unique needs, and understanding those needs is critical from the outset. Identifying key partners—such as utilities, public health agencies, and community organizations—and clearly defining their roles helps lay the foundation for a well-coordinated and effective program.
Rely on your water utility
Rely on your water utility staff’s expertise in maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure, and ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal regulations such as the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. Utilities play an essential role in every aspect of lead service line replacement, including:
- Conducting lead pipe inventories and replacements
- Selecting the material for the new service lines
- Providing water quality metrics and data
- Outsourcing contracts to plumbers and construction companies
- Providing labor to replace lead pipes
- Securing funding
The Unique Case of Investor-Owned Utilities
Engage with community-based organizations
Engage with community-based organizations to build trust and learn about your community’s unique needs and challenges. Partnering with trusted organizations enables you to genuinely understand your community and more effectively reach those who are disproportionately impacted. Engaging the community with intention and thoughtfulness helps ensure all voices are heard and access to safe drinking water for all remains a cornerstone of the utility’s replacement program (see: Principle 4).
Coordinate with local public health departments and health professionals
Coordinate with local public health departments and health professionals to improve your community’s health and well-being through prevention, education, intervention, and community engagement. Public health awareness campaigns can help:
- Communicate the health impacts associated with lead exposure
- Educate the community on what measures they can take to reduce their risk of lead exposure, including proper use of filters, and clarify that boiling is not an effective prevention measure.
- Assess lead exposure risks through data-driven analyses
- Prioritize lead service line replacement in areas with vulnerable populations, such as childcare facilities, schools, households with expecting families or young children, and communities that have been disproportionately impacted by environmental or socioeconomic burdens.
Lean on your administrative staff
Lean on your administrative staff to help facilitate cross-departmental collaboration, contractor management, and assist with the implementation of asset management activities, and software platforms, each of which maximizes operational efficiency. To ensure accountability and mayoral input on decisions that may be politically sensitive, designate a single point of contact within the mayor’s office, such as a business administrator or chief of staff.
Leverage your relationships with city managers, planners, and council members
Leverage relationships with city managers, planners, and council members to implement important pieces of your lead service line replacement program. City managers can coordinate resources, planners can integrate projects into broader infrastructure work, and council members can advocate for funding and policy support. With strong collaboration, communities can reduce costs, minimize disruptions, and accelerate progress toward safe drinking water.
Connect with your local workforce
Connect with your local workforce by partnering with labor unions, which can help establish apprenticeship programs and create good-paying, long-term jobs in your community. Also, consider reaching out to retired plumbers, who can offer valuable insights and experience that may inform training efforts and on-the-ground strategies.
Expand your partnership networks
Expanding partnerships beyond traditional stakeholders can unlock new opportunities to accelerate lead service line replacement. By engaging with diverse partners, communities can overcome barriers, streamline processes, and ensure more efficient replacements. Some partnerships to consider include:
- Engineering consultants can provide technical expertise, help navigate the permitting process, and connect you with contractors to get the work done.
- Local housing agencies can play an important role in engaging landlords to replace lead pipes at rental properties.
- Philanthropy
- Local businesses
- Other agencies that provide wraparound services for low-income or unemployed residents.
Toolbox
Key Action 3
Ensure full lead pipe replacement
The recently finalized Lead and Copper Rule Improvements require full lead pipe replacement and discourage problematic partial replacements. Mayors and other elected officials can adopt local ordinances and administrative policies to ensure lead pipes are fully removed, including the customer portion of the lines.
Prohibit partial replacements
A partial replacement occurs when the utility replaces the portion of the pipe on public property and not the section that runs under private property, typically because of shared ownership of the line. Partial replacements can increase lead levels, exposing residents to higher levels of lead in their drinking water. Prohibiting partial replacements in your community reduces the risk of exposure to increased lead levels in drinking water and ensures compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements.
Enable utility access to private property
The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) require water systems to fully replace lead service lines, discouraging risky partial replacements except in limited cases like emergency repairs. Mayors can play a critical role in helping utilities overcome barriers to full replacement—particularly when gaining access to private property is a challenge. They can support this effort by:
Ensuring the utility can access private property
Ensuring the utility can access private property to replace the customer-owned portion of the line. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements require water systems to replace the entire lead pipe as long as it is under their “control,” meaning systems have legal and physical access. Local elected officials can help remove barriers that prevent water utilities from accessing private property by passing supportive ordinances. These ordinances can streamline the legal process for gaining access, clarify responsibilities, and provide utilities with the authority needed to complete replacements on both public and private sides of the line.
Allowing tenants to provide consent to replace the lead service line
Allowing tenants to provide consent to replace the lead service line on private property if the landlord is not present (see: Principle 3, Key Action 2). Replacing the customer-owned portion of the service line typically requires property owner consent, which is usually granted by signing a formal access form. Obtaining consent can prove challenging for water utilities when landlords are unresponsive or absent, unjustly placing the burden and risk of lead exposure on renters.
Develop a communications strategy
Develop a communications strategy that highlights the importance of replacing lead pipes and urges residents to enroll in the lead service line replacement program and provide access to the water utility when they are present in the neighborhood. Clear messaging through multiple channels—such as social media, community meetings, and direct outreach—can help build trust and encourage participation. Providing residents with timely updates and addressing common concerns can further increase engagement and support for the replacement program.
