To the Editor,

With respect to the article “Lead exposure up 1 percent in Cranston children under age 6” by Emma Bartlett, I wanted to call attention to legislation S-2765 that was passed through the Rhode Island Senate on Tuesday, June 14. This bill was established in response to the lead service lines that deliver Rhode Island’s drinking water and thereby poison and cause brain damage to children. If its companion legislation in the House H-8153 passes, a ten-year deadline would be set to replace all public and private lead service lines, free of cost to residents and property owners. Also, tenants and buyers will be required to be fully disclosed if their property has lead pipes. The bill would use the millions of dollars Rhode Island will receive from the Infrastructure bill to complete the construction.

Bartlett mentions in her article that there is an increase in Cranston children under the age of six with elevated blood lead levels and low-income children in Rhode Island face a higher risk of lead exposure. While she offers preventative measures from RIDOH’s website to minimize lead exposure to children, this bill would solve the problem from its roots. By replacing lead service lines, Cranston and other cities in Rhode Island would finally have lead-free water.

However, in order for this bill to pass in the house, the H-8153 bill must come to a vote. That means calling or emailing your state representatives Charlene Lima, Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, Brandon Potter, Jacquelyn Baginski, and Arthur Handy to move this bill forward and bring it to a floor vote, so it can pass before the legislative session ends on July 1st.

Everyone deserves the right to safe drinking water. Contacting your House speaker is an actionable step you can take to make this right a reality.

Clara Weller

Weller is an intern at Environment America and is working on moving a bill forward in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The bill will work to get rid of lead service lines and bring Rhode Island one step closer to fully clean and safe drinking water.