Water filter coupons in Cook County, Illinois, help reduce lead and plastic pollution

Note: A version of this blog appeared in theChicago Sun-Times as a Letter to the Editor

An innovative new project in Cook County offers select families affected by lead-contaminated water a crucial solution for human health: coupons for water filters. Senator Durbinâ€sannouncement of the program on October 16 represents a critical step towards ensuring safe drinking water for Chicago residents without exacerbating plastic pollution, especially important within a city that has400,000 pipes—more than any other city in the U.S.Â�

This announcement follows therelease of a new EPA rule requiring most lead service lines in the U.S. to be removed in 10 years, a huge success for clean drinking water. Due to Chicagoâ€s high number of remaining lead service lines, the city has an extension for removal—giving it 20 years. This makes providing filters in the interim even more important for Chicagoans.Â�

Families with a verified lead service line, who are enrolled in Medicaid, and have a child under 7 years of age, are eligible for a $50 water filter coupon to be distributed by mail. CountyCare, one of Illinois†five Medicaid managed care companies, has sent coupons to approximately 90,000 households in the county. Eligible residents can visit theirnearest Jewel-Osco grocery store to redeem their coupon for the full value of a filter pitcher and a replacement filter.

Two-thirds of Chicago Children at Risk

This program is supported by over $206 million allocated for drinking water improvements in Illinois, made possible by Senator Duckworthâ€s (D-IL) leadership in authoring theDrinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, which was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This initiative follows aletter bySenator Tammy Duckworth and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) to five Medicaid care companies in the state, urging them to act swiftly on addressing lead poisoning risks to children. The letter advocated for the distribution of water filters certified to remove lead, drinking water test kits, culturally appropriate educational materials, and a qualified home visitor to educate families on lead exposure risks. This call to action was driven by arecent study revealing that 68% of children under the age of six in Chicago have lead in their drinking water—a rate potentially higher and less likely to be tested in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Filters provide a critical, temporary solution to ensure families have immediate access to safe drinking water. Additionally, this mail-delivered coupon system will help relieve the financial burden on families who might otherwise have to purchase a filter themselves or rely on single-use plastic bottles for drinking water. However, many families who would benefit more from the accessibility of programs that distribute filters directly to homes as done inDenver, Colorado.

Filtered Not Bottled Water as a Solution for Families

Despite the program’s positive impact, it leaves over 300,000 households on their own to access clean drinking water while the local water systems work to replace lead service lines.World health experts agree that there is no safe level of lead. Full lead service line replacement in Chicago,even with recent regulatory advancements and funding, is estimated to taketwo decades to complete. Advocates continue to call for that timeline to be shortened, but families need a solution now while the source of the lead contamination is addressed. Lead service lines are not an isolated issue with an estimated9.2 million households still affected across the U.S.Â�

Filtered, not bottled water, offers a solution far preferable to the unjust financial burden and additional human and environmental health risks associated with purchasing and using single-use plastic water bottles. Single-use plastic bottles further expose people to microplastics, nanoplastics, andtoxic additive chemicals. Most plastic bottles—like all plastic—are not recycled in the way consumers have been led to believe, resulting in more unnecessary pollution in landfills and the environment. Supplying filtered water to impacted communities in the U.S. for just 6 months could prevent as many as32 billion single-use plastic water bottles.�

Stronger Guidance Needed from the EPA

While this Cook County initiative is a great example of a clean water solution, there are millions of people in the U.S. who are exposed to lead-contaminated water and do not have access to free filters. Clean drinking water standards fall under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has made significant progress through the finalizedLead and Copper Improvements Rule. This new rule requires water systems with three lead action level exceedances in a 5-year period to make filters available to all consumers. However, the language fails to provide the necessary requirements to ensure the filters are accessible and safely used, leaving room for cities and water systems, particularly in underfunded and overburdened areas, to do the bare minimum.�

The EPA must provide additional guidance to water systems to do the right thing to protect community health: directly distribute water filters certified to remove lead at no cost to the customer, and provide extensive culturally significant educational materials and training on filter use and maintenance—a critical step to ensure customers can access, trust, and properly use their filters. The EPA has the opportunity to ensure that water systems reduce barriers and financial burdens for accessing clean drinking water with filters certified to remove lead, without exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis and its toxic impacts.