Protect Our Drinking Water
As measured by the number of water service lines that may contain lead
Why Is This Important?
To reduce the risk of exposure to lead in our drinking water, the State of Michigan requires that all lead service lines must be replaced by 2041.
Metric Definition
Calculated as the percent of drinking water service lines that could contain lead components.
Data source: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
Analysis
As of the end of 2020, 1.7% of county drinking water service lines are known to contain lead components and 12.5% have components that are unknown.
Current Status
Oakland County announced the Local Government Critical Infrastructure Planning Grant. This competitive grant provides financial assistance to Oakland County Cities, Villages, Towns (CVTs) for project planning, engineering, analysis, and other related professional services in support of critical infrastructure project proposals. For example, a CVT could use the funding to help identify and locate the water lines with lead. The Board of Commissioners has allocated $2.4 million of federal funding, which will be matched by local communities to support the pre-planning and engineering analysis/studies necessary to apply for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and/or the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund infrastructure project funding. The approval of the federal physical infrastructure bill promises to deliver a significant influx of funding to these programs and our communities will be better positioned to access this funding to implement project plans.
Learn More
For more information on lead and drinking water in Oakland County, visit the Oakland County Health Division’s Environmental Health Unit website. The Environmental Health Unit can provide information on education and testing resources.