New Jersey Future celebrates Newark’s removal of more than 23,000 lead pipes

TRENTON, February 11, 2022 — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Newark on Friday to highlight the city’s successful lead service line (LSL) replacement program. Vice President Harris was accompanied by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan.

New Jersey Future Managing Director of Policy and Water Chris Sturm attended Newark’s commemoration of its completed LSL replacement program.

“New Jersey Future commends Mayor Baraka, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr., and Governor Murphy, as well as Newark Water Director Kareem Adeem and the hundreds of engineers, workers, and community partners who are responsible for Newark’s remarkable water turnaround story,” Sturm said. “Today New Jersey’s largest city also became its leading city when it comes to safe drinking water.”

After Newark removed more than 18,000 LSLs at no charge to residents, in 2020 New Jersey Future recognized the city’s accomplishments with a Smart Growth Award. New Jersey Future captured the key elements of Newark’s successful program, including community engagement and the hiring and training of local contractors, in this video.

Today, Newark’s removal of more than 23,000 LSLs testifies to the potential impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investments to replace lead pipes. However, while New Jersey Future remains grateful for significant water infrastructure funding from the Biden administration, it recognizes that further investments are crucial. Newark cannot serve as a model for water infrastructure in New Jersey until communities across the state are equipped with the funding necessary to similarly safeguard public health.

“Unfortunately, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law won’t provide all of the funding we need,” Sturm said. “We estimate that the funding gap for lead pipe replacement in New Jersey remains between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. It is critical that the State provide additional American Rescue Plan funds to help communities eradicate lead in drinking water and other infrastructure challenges. That’s why New Jersey Future is part of the new Clean Water, Healthy Families, Good Jobs campaign, which is seeking a state investment of $1.2 billion for water infrastructure.”