GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids has received a grant of $5 million to help replace the city's lead service lines.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the city, and was joined by Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and other local and state officials for a tour of a current residential lead service line replacement project.
"This year, over 2,000 lead service lines will be replaced in our city. And we'll be replacing another 4,000. We're able to increase the number of lead service lines that we're replacing largely because of the funding support from the state and the federal government," said Mayor Bliss, who reaffirmed her commitment to eliminating lead exposure in Grand Rapids.
"I want to be really clear about that a lot of children in our community continue to be poisoned by lead from paint. The city is also concerned about lead and water. And these efforts to both address lead in our water and lead dust. They really complement each other and and both of these efforts are critically important."
Officials on all levels of government are taking steps to eliminate the use of lead in water systems.
"The science has been clear for decades. There's absolutely no acceptable level of lead, especially not for our children," said EPA Administrator Regan, who spoke of the Biden Administration's actions to eliminate lead from the nation's water systems.
"That's why President Biden, and this administration has committed to removing 100% of the list service lines as quickly as possible, so that everyone in this country can turn on their tap water, pour a glass and feel confident that is safe to drink their water."
According to Regan, the Biden Administration has invested over $50 billion towards replacing led service lines, protecting the countries bodies of water, and building water systems that can withstand climate change. Michigan has received $73 million dollars to focus on lead service line replacement.
Congresswoman Scholten spoke of the importance of replacing lead lines for Grand Rapids neighborhoods.
"This grant funding and additional funding that we passed through the bipartisan infrastructure law last Congress has been instrumental in removing lead pipes and investing in sustainable infrastructure across the country, particularly in neighborhoods that have experienced historic divestment."
Mayor Bliss expressed pride in the water of Grand Rapids, as the city has met all regulation requirements and is considered to be one of the best quality water in the nation.
Efforts to proactively replace the city's lead service lines began in 2017, and became part of a state-wide initiative to replace all of the state's 450,000 lead service lines.
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