An environmental advocacy group released a new report, detailing the prominence of lead pipes in the city and a tool to track them.

Across the city, 14% of homes have lead pipes that deliver water to a home or apartment building from the water main in the middle of the street. Meanwhile in some neighborhoods, that number is as high as 30%, according to the new report.


What You Need To Know

  • A new report from the New York League of Conservation Voters shows that citywide, 14% of homes get their tap water via lead pipes

  • In some neighborhoods, particularly in the Bronx and Queens, that figure can be as high as 30%, according to the report

  • The NYCLV released a new interactive tool to find out if people have lead pipes across the city

Those are just a couple statistics in the latest report from the New York League of Conservation Voters, a statewide conservation nonprofit.

Along with their findings, the group has also released a new interactive map for New Yorkers to find out if their home is getting its tap water through lead pipes.

“About 1.13 million New Yorkers are drinking water from a pipe that’s made of lead or possibly lead,” Joshua Klainberg, vice president of the organization, said.

When broken out by borough, Queens had the highest rate of lead pipes with 19%, the report showed. The Bronx has the second highest at 18%.

“I think the highest level we ended up seeing was in City Council District 28,” Klainberg said.  

District 28 is in Queens and is represented by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

“Thirty percent of the pipes in her district are known [to] lead,” Klainberg said.

He pointed out that federal guidelines stipulate all lead pipes must be replaced by 2037. But right now, Klainberg says the city does not have a plan for how they’ll replace them.

“How are they going to create a program to remove the lead pipes? That remains unclear,” he said.

The biggest thing he said he wants New Yorkers to do is to educate themselves using their interactive tool.  

According to Klainberg, if an individual lives in a home that uses lead pipes for its water, they should make sure they run the water for at least a minute before using it if it has been more than eight hours since it was last used.