Biden sets 10-year deadline for US cities to replace lead pipes

President to announce in Wisconsin EPA rule aimed at ensuring drinking water is safe for all Americans

A decade after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis raised alarms about the continuing dangers of lead in tap water, Joe Biden is setting a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes, finalizing an aggressive approach aimed at ensuring that drinking water is safe for all Americans.

Biden announced the final Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule during a visit to the swing state of Wisconsin in the final month of a tight presidential campaign. The announcement highlights an issue - safe drinking water - that Kamala Harris has prioritized as vice-president as well as during her presidential campaign. The new rule supplants a looser standard set by former president Donald Trump's administration that did not include a universal requirement to replace lead pipes.