Flint’s still-unfinished lead pipe replacement serves as cautionary tale to other cities
June 29, 2025
Flint, Michigan, is still working on replacing all of its lead pipes. The effort was supposed to be finished years ago, but slow work, poor record-keeping and residents’ mistrust in their local government caused extensive delays. There’s now a federal mandate for communities to replace their lead pipes, so lessons from Flint’s failures are valuable nationwide. One place that used them was Newark, New Jersey, which experienced a lead crisis after Flint. They made it easier for residents to approve pipe replacement work and targeted properties systematically.
