We’re removing lead from drinking water, once and for all.

In 2014, Flint, Michigan, made national headlines. It was all due to elected officials’ decision to switch the city’s drinking water supply — intended to be a cost-saving measure but with disastrous consequences for public health. The other issue? Although Black residents comprise 11% of Michigan’s total population, Flint’s population was and is overwhelmingly Black, meaning it was mostly Black households who experienced foul-tasting and discolored drinking water. But it wasn’t just about the water’s taste — dangerously toxic water caused a host of other health issues. It was contaminated with lead, and it was poisoning Black households. Thousands of Flint residents experienced unclean drinking water for 18 months, causing skin rashes, hair loss and itchy skin. Ten years later, Flint residents haven’t seen a penny of a $625 million legal settlement and are still suffering from related health consequences. Flint earned embarrassing media attention as a preventable, large-scale public health crisis. It also helped raise awareness of the environmental justice movement and acknowledgement that environmental issues disproportionately impact communities of color. But this is far from the only instance of lead-contaminated drinking water. The U.S., the richest country in the world, still relies on lead pipes which are present...