Special Report: Breaking Barriers to Lead Pipe Replacement in New York

Key Findings from the Report

While many utilities have begun making progress to replace lead service lines, they face significant barriers, including difficulties accessing home basements to conduct a replacement.

Nearly every utility interviewed still has lead service lines in use, particularly in older urban areas, leading to elevated lead levels in drinking water and contributing to an estimated 555,000 lead pipes in New York State. They include:

34,000 lead service lines in Buffalo, with another 35,000 service lines of unknown material

2,300 lead service lines in Albany, with another 18,000 service lines of unknown material

18,000 lead service lines in Rochester

Federal funding to replace lead service lines is significantly oversubscribed, with as much as $5 of demand for every $1 of funding available. Replacing all of New York’s lead service lines by 2037 is expected to cost approximately $695 million per year over the next decade, most of which is not yet funded.

Opportunities for Action on Lead Pipes in New York

Increase Funding: Better utilize available federal funding and dramatically increase state funding to meet the enormous demand across the state, helping communities afford to get the lead out of drinking water. 
Strengthen Policies to Accelerate Lead Pipe Replacement in New York: Encourage utilities to provide replacements at no direct cost to customers, provide utilities legal access to properties to get the lead out, and advance other policies to incentivize digging up lead service lines at scale. Many of these policies are included in the Lead Pipe Replacement Act.
Support Vulnerable New Yorkers: Prioritize the needs of children, low-income neighborhoods, and communities of color in allocating funding and staging work. 
Involve Communities: Engage with affected communities to raise awareness and provide support throughout the replacement process.
Monitor and Report: Increase transparency around funding decisions to track progress and ensure accountability in lead service line replacement efforts.

“With half a million lead service lines still in use, millions of New York families are regularly exposed to contaminated water. It’s time for a coordinated campaign to get the lead out everywhere, and that means dedicated state funding for lead service line removal and passing the Lead Pipe Replacement Act.”

— EANY’s Rob Hayes, co-author of the report

From the Executive Summary

Every New Yorker deserves safe, lead-free drinking water, yet hundreds of thousands remain at risk from exposure to lead through aging lead service lines (LSLs). With an estimated 555,696 LSLs—the fifth-highest total in the nation—New York faces a pressing public health and infrastructure challenge that disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) require utilities to replace nearly all LSLs by 2037, which will cost New York approximately $695 million per year.

We examined both successes and barriers in the state’s early efforts to replace Lead Pipes in New York and identified policy solutions to accelerate progress, increase public health protections, and ensure compliance with federal requirements. Key recommendations include:

Dedicate state funds to close federal funding gaps. New York should establish a dedicated state fund to supplement federal dollars, helping cover federal match requirements and private side replacement costs, and providing bridge financing and technical assistance. Funds should prioritize assistance to the most under-resourced and vulnerable
communities.
Leverage State Revolving Fund (SRF) set-asides for small and under-resourced communities. Maximizing federal SRF set-asides can ease financial and staffing capacity burdens by supporting LSL inventory development, planning, and outreach, and creating more advantageous loan-to-grant ratios.
Increase transparency and improve access to SRFs. New York should disclose project scoring and funding decisions, create priority rankings specific to LSL projects, and ease requirements for small and under-resourced systems to expand access to LSL replacement funds and ensure greater accountability in fund distribution.
Enable efficient funding, contracting, and procurement. The state should remove barriers to financing private side replacements and promote innovative contracting strategies—like joint procurement, neighborhood-scale projects, and “pay for success” models—to reduce costs, expand contractor capacity, and accelerate implementation while preserving
affordability.
Unlock municipal resources to enable faster private side replacement. New York should unlock critical municipal support by enacting legislation that explicitly allows utilities to use water rate revenue and other municipal resources for the removal of private side LSLs.
Remove barriers to property access with automatic enrollment policies. The state should affirm utilities’ legal authority to access private property for replacements, allow default enrollment with opt-out provisions, and support no direct cost replacements. These actions would reduce paperwork, increase homeowner participation, and accelerate LSL replacement.
Leverage State Revolving Fund (SRF) set-asides for small and under-resourced communities. Maximizing federal SRF set-asides can ease financial and staffing capacity burdens by supporting LSL inventory development, planning, and outreach, and creating more advantageous loan-to-grant ratios.
Increase transparency and improve access to SRFs. New York should disclose project scoring and funding decisions, create priority rankings specific to LSL projects, and ease requirements for small and under-resourced systems to expand access to LSL replacement funds and ensure greater accountability in fund distribution.
Enable efficient funding, contracting, and procurement. The state should remove barriers to financing private side replacements and promote innovative contracting strategies—like joint procurement, neighborhood-scale projects, and “pay for success” models—to reduce costs, expand contractor capacity, and accelerate implementation while preserving affordability.
Unlock municipal resources to enable faster private side replacement. New York should unlock critical municipal support by enacting legislation that explicitly allows utilities to use water rate revenue and other municipal resources for the removal of private side LSLs.
Remove barriers to property access with automatic enrollment policies. The state should affirm utilities’ legal authority to access private property for replacements, allow default enrollment with opt-out provisions, and support no direct cost replacements. These actions would reduce paperwork, increase homeowner participation, and accelerate LSL replacement.
Prioritize LSL replacements over inventories. New York should focus on prioritizing replacements in high-risk areas over exhaustive inventory efforts, encouraging the use of predictive modeling in low-risk areas. This focus will help conserve resources for physical replacements, accelerate progress, and reduce ongoing lead exposure for vulnerable and under-resourced communities.

Replacing LSLs presents a monumental challenge, but also a monumental opportunity. New York is on the brink of making a once-in-a-generation investment to upgrade its water infrastructure, which will benefit both public health and the state’s economy.

You can reach out to Erica Galante-Johnson or Rob Hayes with questions about lead pipes in New York.