Money for clean water coming to every state
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The Biden administration wants to guarantee access to clean water throughout the country and one way it wants to do that is by removing lead pipes. Vice President Kamala Harris took a trip to Pittsburgh Tuesday to announce the administration's latest effort to guarantee safe and clean drinking water.
"Can you believe that in the United States of America that is still not necessarily guaranteed to all people, to access clean water?” she asked.
That's why the administration is investing nearly $6 billion for clean water infrastructure.
The money will go to every state in the country and help remove lead pipes.
"Americans in up to 10 million homes and children in thousands of schools and childcare facilities had to drink water coming out of lead pipes,” Harris said.
The EPA estimates more than 700,00 lead water lines are still in use in Pennsylvania and the goal is to remove all lead pipes from Pittsburgh by 2026.
EPA administrator Michael Regan says the money will also improve sanitation and remove forever chemicals from water throughout the country.
"We see it as an essential need in terms of public health, but we also know these investments will harden our infrastructure," Regan said.
Half of the funding will be provided as grants or forgivable loans to aid disadvantaged communities in this cleanup process.