Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic − as some cities are doing − carries hidden costs
- Written by Rajpreet Grewal, Water Policy Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Plastic water pipes may be cheaper, but they also come with risksMark Bernard/iStock/Getty Images PlusFlint, Michigan, made headlines in 2015 when tests revealed dangerously high lead levels in its drinking water. The city had switched its water supply to the Flint River a year earlier, and corrosive water had damaged aging lead pipes, exposing...