Prov Water Faces Federal Civil Rights Complaint Over Lead Contamination - UPDATED
Wednesday, January 05, 2022
A group of health and environmental justice organizations including the Childhood Lead Action Project has filed a civil rights complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency against the Providence Water Supply Board.
Their claim is that Providence Water's lead pipe replacement practices discriminate against Black, Latinx, and Native American people.
Providence Water performs infrastructure work and partial lead service line replacements in a way that "disproportionately increases the risk of lead exposure from drinking water for Black and Latinx residents, contrary to its responsibilities under the Civil Rights Act of 1964," according to the groups.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"All families deserve lead-free drinking water, regardless of race, class, or any other factor," said Childhood Lead Action Project Executive Director Laura Brion. "Right now, ProvWater will only fully replace lead pipes for property owners with enough money to pay out of pocket or take out a loan. This amounts to obvious race and class discrimination and needs to stop."
In 2019, GoLocalProv reported, "Providence Water is Handing Out Water Filters to Some, But Won’t Answer Many Questions About Program:"
"Why are some Providence Water customers now getting home water filters? The answer from the agency is confused at best and should raise concerns for parents whose homes have had their waterlines upgraded recently, but did not receive filters.
Over the past few years, Providence Water has been upgrading water lines through its delivery area. Now, some are getting water filters and written warnings about lead exposure, but thousands of homes had upgrades -- and did not receive filter systems."
About Complaint
The administrative complaint was filed Wednesday with the EPA by the Childhood Lead Action Project, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, South Providence Neighborhood Association, National Center for Healthy Housing, and Environmental Defense Fund.
The groups assert that lead service lines — lead pipes that connect the water main under the street to individual homes — are the greatest source of lead in drinking water. Exposure to lead contributes to serious health effects in all age groups, especially in infants and children. While lead paint is the most significant source of children’s lead exposure, lead in drinking water is an important contributor, especially for children reliant on infant formula.
Providence Water has more than 27,000 full or partial lead service lines in its service area and has exceeded the EPA’s actionable level for lead in water for 15 of the last 16 years. People of color, renters, and families in poverty are more likely to live in homes serviced by these lead pipes, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.
Prov Water has routinely acknowledged the elevated levels of lead in drinking water -- and offered "0%" three-year loans to homeowners -- but the groups in their action say this financial burden is discriminatory.
The groups say that the only way to effectively protect people from this source of lead contamination is to completely remove lead pipes from the ground. However, Providence Water routinely conducts partial lead pipe replacements during its infrastructure work, disturbing water mains and leaving in place the portion of the lead pipe that runs from the property line to the home. EPA’s Science Advisory Board has found that partial replacements increase the risk of lead contamination, with no evidence they are “reliably effective in reducing drinking water [lead] levels” in the long-term.
To replace lead service lines completely, Providence Water requires that homeowners pay to replace the portion that runs under their property, at a cost of up to $4,500, which can be financed through a 10-year loan program. However, if property owners cannot afford the loan or opt out for other reasons, Providence Water still continues with its infrastructure work, replacing only the portion of the pipe under the street. Once Providence Water's partial replacements happen, residents face a continued risk of exposure to lead from the pipes that remain.
Call for Prov Water To Replace Pipes at No Cost
The groups said that the City of Providence has acknowledged that communities of color in the city are “disproportionately low-income, residents in neighborhoods with the lowest property ownership rates, and experience higher rates of cost burden.”
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, any organization that receives federal funds cannot discriminate—even unintentionally—on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the services they provide. As a recipient of more than $90 million in Drinking Water State Revolving Funds since 2015 and a $6.4 million Water Infrastructure Improvement for the Nation Act grant in 2020, Providence Water’s discriminatory practices need to stop.
The complaint calls on the EPA to investigate Providence Water and mandate that the utility take action to address these discriminatory practices -- and states that the easiest way to do this is for Providence Water to conduct full, instead of partial, lead pipe replacements during its water main infrastructure work for all residents at no cost to property owners. The goal is not only to stop partial replacements but to fully eliminate lead service lines throughout the system.
“Too many utilities conduct infrastructure projects that force a difficult choice on families. It doesn’t have to be this way,” said Tom Neltner, Senior Director of Safer Chemicals at the Environmental Defense Fund. “States such as Michigan, Illinois, and New Jersey have banned this practice to protect residents who lack the resources to protect themselves. Utilities need to stop the discrimination and stop partial LSL replacements.”
Wednesday's filing is the latest in a series of public calls from the Childhood Lead Action Project’s Lead-Free Water RI Coalition for an equitable, statewide plan for full, free lead pipe replacements for all Rhode Islanders.
“This complaint underlines the importance of ensuring the state does not repeat past mistakes,” said Childhood Lead Action Project organizer Devra Levy. “We’re calling on Providence Water to do full lead service line replacements and to do so with the input of communities most affected by these ongoing discriminatory practices. RI has a unique opportunity to enable not just ProvWater but every water utility in the state to do the same. The money is there, we just have to make sure it’s spent right.”
Prov Water Responds
On Wednesday afternoon, Prov Water provided the following statement in response.
Providence Water takes the issue of lead at our customers taps extremely seriously. That is why for the past 10-years we have been working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a panel of nationally recognized drinking water experts to develop and implement strategies to reduce lead in drinking water.
Based on the recommendations of our expert panel and in consultation with the Rhode Island Department of Health and the EPA, Providence Water has implemented a 5-pronged strategy to address the issue of lead at our customers taps:
1. Addition of orthophosphate for enhanced corrosion control;
2. Aggressive water main rehabilitation within our distribution system;
3. A zero percent interest, 10-year loan program to help our customers remove their portion of a lead service;
4. A system-wide unidirectional flushing program; and
5. An extensive public education and outreach program.
Thanks to these efforts, we are seeing improvements in our distribution system. As of December, Providence Water is in compliance with the EPA’s Lead & Copper Rule. In addition, Providence Water is working closely with the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank to maximize federal infrastructure bill funding to remove lead service lines. This program will be designed to prioritize lead service line replacements in disadvantaged areas throughout our service area.
We understand and appreciate community advocacy regarding this public health issue. Providence Water will continue to follow the recommendations of the EPA and our expert panel regarding lead service line replacements.
Article first published 1/5/22 1:42 PM
Updated 1/5/22 4:13 PM
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