Why it matters:

Lead in drinking water remains one of the most preventable public health threats in the United States and replacing lead service lines is the most permanent solution.

Congress invested historic resources for this work through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and communities across the country are actively relying on those dollars to plan, contract, and break ground on lead pipe replacement projects. Reductions in federal funding can cause delays, higher costs, and lost momentum in getting lead out of homes, schools, and childcare centers.

The problem:

The Senate FY26 Interior–Environment appropriations bill advanced out of committee with a provision transferring $250 million away from EPA’s IIJA lead service line replacement funding to an unrelated program at the Department of the Interior.

This funding had already been appropriated for lead pipe replacement and states and local communities were counting on it. Based on national cost estimates, the proposed transfer represented the potential loss of funding for up to 25,000–30,000 lead service line replacements.

Our goal:

Prevent or reduce the transfer of lead service line replacement funding and protect the federal government’s commitment to eliminating lead in drinking water.

What we did:

• Activated a broad national coalition of organizations supporting lead reduction, including environmental and public health advocates, water utility associations, local government groups, and other aligned stakeholders.

• Ran a rapid-response engagement campaign through Protect Kids From Lead, quickly translating a complex appropriations provision into a clear, urgent public health message for policymakers and partners.

• Connected with Appropriators at the highest levels by working directly and personally with Senators Murkowski and Merkley (the Chair and Ranking Member of the relevant Appropriations subcommittee) and their Chiefs of Staff. 

• Coordinated outreach to all Senate and House offices, generating timely pressure at key moments in the appropriations process.

• Supported a targeted Senate sign-on effort led by Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester, urging Senate leadership and appropriators to remove the transfer and keep funding dedicated to lead service line replacement.

• Equipped coalition partners with concise messaging and clear state-by-state impact estimates, helping them reinforce what was at stake for their states and communities already implementing lead replacement projects.

The bottom line:

Current Strategies helped drive bipartisan momentum to protect lead pipe replacement funding and successfully reduced the proposed transfer by 50%.

As a result, $125 million was retained for EPA’s lead service line replacement program, preserving critical resources for communities working to eliminate lead exposure and deliver safer drinking water.