How We Mapped Chicago’s Lead Pipe Problem and What We Learned

This story is a partnership between Inside Climate News , Grist and WBEZ .

Chicago has a lead pipe problem.

The city estimates that about 412,000 out of roughly 491,000 water service lines require replacement because they are known or suspected to contain lead. That’s the most of any city in the country.

Service lines are the underground pipes that connect the city’s water main to your home’s internal plumbing. When these and other plumbing materials contain lead, tiny pieces of the toxic metal can dissolve or flake off into the water coming out of your tap. • ICN Weekly Saturdays Our #1 newsletter delivers the week’s climate and energy news – our original stories and top headlines from around the web. Get ICN Weekly • Inside Clean Energy Thursdays Dan Gearino’s habit-forming weekly