Chicago’s struggle with lead contamination and budget Constraints
Rachel Havrelock of The Freshwater Lab at UIC sheds light on the city's lead problem and the budgetary constraints facing the Department of Water Management.
"A limited budget has strained the DWM as it faces replacing over 400,000 lead service lines in Chicago. Lack of funding means that only a small number of service lines are replaced each year, although that number has increased since former mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration introduced the Equity Lead Service Line Replacement program. The city set a goal of replacing 40,000 service lines by 2027, but as of December 2023, officials have only replaced 3,777."
Find out more in the Chicago Reader article ➡️ go.uic.edu/rachel-havrelock-chicago-reader