Crews are hard at work in the Martindale Brightwood community.
Citizens Energy is pulling lead service lines out of the ground— the pipes that carry the water from the main water line (typically under the street) to the customer’s home.
“We just hit a milestone of 3,000 lead service lines replaced and that is still a small portion of our overall customer base that we believe has lead service lines but it’s exciting to get to that point,” said Ben Easley, a spokesperson for Citizens Energy.
Water systems across Indiana are moving forward with identifying and removing lead service lines amid uncertainty at the federal level.
According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), so far, the following have been identified:
| TYPE OF SERVICE LINES | NUMBER |
| Lead | 152,620 |
| Galvanized requiring replacement | 20,946 |
| Unknown | 694,622 |
Water safety advocates are eagerly awaiting what the Trump administration will do when it comes to lead in our drinking water.
The Biden administration put a new federal lead and copper rule in place that requires the replacement of lead service lines by 2037. It also lowers the lead action level and triggers more aggressive action when water sampling finds higher lead levels.
“It’s the best rule,” said Onyette Hamiter, who lives in Martindale Brightwood. “It should have always been in place.”
Citizens Energy replaced Hamiter’s lead service line on her property in September as part of their Lead Service Line Replacement Program.
“I’m relieved,” said Hamiter.
4,000 water systems across Indiana are impacted by the new lead and copper rule and they must do an inventory of the number of lead service lines and notify impacted customers.
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Some people are concerned the Trump administration could roll back the requirements.
A federal judge granted an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) request to freeze litigation related to lead service line replacements.
It’s on hold until April 21.
“The Trump administration came in and said wait a minute, we want to take a look at this rule and decide whether we’re going to go forward with defending it or if we are going to ask the court to take it back and then maybe we will try to weaken it which is what some folks are concerned about,” said Erik Olson, Senior Strategic Director for Health at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “They may try to weaken it.”
Lead can lead to a number of negative health impacts on the brain, heart and nervous system, according to the CDC.
You can't taste it, but lead can be in your drinking water and can impact your brain, heart and other parts of your body. It typically gets into your drinking water through lead pipes "
The National Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit that focuses on clean air and clean water.
"Those lead pipes are ticking time bombs, because at any point, they can release lead into your drinking water,” said Olson. “Little pieces of lead called particulates can flake off and get into your tap water. So unless we pull those lead pipes out which is what this rule requires, people are going to have periodic spikes of lead in their tap water."
Lead can also lead to learning problems and behavioral issues in children.
“We all have to pay for that,” said Olson. “Your schools have to pay for special education."
The NRDC plans to defend the lead and copper rule in court.
“How can anyone be in favor of lead in your drinking water?" asked Olson.
The EPA provided the following statement to WRTV:
“At EPA, we know that there is no safe level of lead exposure, and as part of our mission to protect public health, we must work together to take a commonsense approach to reducing lead exposure from drinking water. EPA, under the first Trump Administration, laid the groundwork for strengthening lead standards by issuing the 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. There are key components of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions being implemented today. In October 2024, a new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) rule was finalized. In February, the courts granted a request by Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of EPA, to place the current litigation of the LCRI National Primary Drinking Water Rule on hold until April 21, 2025, to provide new EPA leadership an opportunity to review the under underlying rule. EPA’s free Water Technical Assistance program is available to water systems to help them design plans and access federal funding.”
But states like Massachusetts say the Trump administration delayed federal funding for replacement of lead service lines.
“The Trump Administration has delayed more than $50 million in federal funding for lead service line replacement in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “Funding local projects is vital to get lead out of our drinking water. Massachusetts has some of the oldest housing stock and water infrastructure in the nation, and lead service lines remain a threat to public health, particularly for young children. These funds stimulate our economy by creating construction jobs, replacing outdated infrastructure, and most importantly ensuring that residents are drinking safe, clean water. We urge the Trump Administration to cease this dangerous delay in critical funding.”
WRTV Investigates checked with IDEM and the Indiana Finance Authority and we have not found any problems with receiving federal funding.
“The EPA Lead Line Replacement funds were included with the federal Continuing Resolution, and the funds will be available to Indiana,” read a statement from the Indiana Finance Authority. “However, IFA still needs to go through the formal EPA application and award process. IFA is hopeful funds will be available for use within sixty to ninety days.”
Across the state, water systems are using federal grants to pay for the work, but some are passing at least some of the cost on to their customers.
Citizens Energy says customers pay an additional $3.60 per month for the lead service line replacement program, but it’s not clear how long they’ll be paying for it.
“This line item will be on water bills until the issue of lead service line replacement is fully resolved for our customers,” said Easley.
Their next stop for replacing lead service lines is the near northwest side.
“Obviously we are watching the federal landscape to see how things change,” said Easley. “We will continue with this program absolutely."
- To check if you have a lead service line, use this online tool for Citizens Energy and this online tool for Indiana American Water
- If you receive a letter from your water system, don’t ignore it. Contact your utility for the next steps.
- You can also contact your water system or a private lab to get your water tested at the tap in your home.
- Customers can also contact a certified drinking water lab about collecting a sample. IDOH maintains the list of certified drinking water labs: https://www.in.gov/health/laboratories/drinking-water-laboratory-certification/ [in.gov]
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