Lead exposure is one of the most preventable yet devastating public health crises. Across Ohio, an estimated 745,000 lead service lines still deliver contaminated water to homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Lead has no safe exposure level—it causes irreversible harm, including developmental delays, behavioral challenges, heart disease, kidney damage, and premature death.
The consequences of lead exposure often remain invisible at first—but they show up in missed opportunities, developmental struggles, and generational harm. This crisis disproportionately affects working-class families, communities of color, and under-resourced neighborhoods, making lead removal both a public health priority and an issue of environmental justice.
The solution is not complicated. We know where the lead pipes are, how to replace them, and we have funding and workforce capacity available. What is needed is the will to act.
The Lead Line Replacement Act lays out a clear 15-year plan to remove every lead service line in the state. It requires public water systems to identify and replace all lead pipes—not just partial fixes—and empowers the state’s environmental agency to oversee progress through a dedicated Office of Lead Service Line Replacement. The bill also integrates workforce development programs, cost recovery mechanisms for utilities, and affordability protections for low-income households.
By committing to full replacement, this legislation ensures that clean, safe water is treated not as a privilege, but as a basic right. It sets a model for other states facing the same crisis and restores trust in public systems by guaranteeing that no child’s zip code determines the safety of their drinking water.
Impact or how it will be measured:
The legislation will measure progress by:
Tracking the number of lead service lines identified and replaced.
Monitoring statewide blood lead level data, with the goal of reducing the 4,000+ new childhood lead poisoning cases identified each year.
Evaluating job creation, wage growth, and reduced water loss tied to infrastructure improvements.
Independent analysis projects that full replacement could grow Ohio’s economy by $145–185 billion over 15 years, with a return of up to $45 for every dollar invested. These savings come from reduced medical costs, improved worker productivity, fewer special education placements, and lower mortality rates.