GAO Report Says EPA Should Share More Lead Service Line Information

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report today on how data about lead service lines are being shared.  GAO recommends that EPA share more information with states on approaches to identifying lead service lines. In responses to an EPA letter after the Flint, MI lead crisis, states indicated they would be encouraging water systems to identify lead service lines and share this information with the public.  When the GAO looked for this information now, they found that only 12 of the 100 largest water systems in the country had such information easily available.  GAO recognizes there are many challenges to identifying and quantifying lead services lines but there have been some successes.  GAO recommended that EPA share productive approaches among the all the states, so more states can help water systems improve the quality and quantity of lead service line data available to the public.  EPA agreed with the recommendation and pointed to the newly established website on lead service line replacement as a resource that is now available to states.

You can view the highlights and the full report here.