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Identifying Information Gaps to Help Communities Navigate Lead Service Line Replacement
In response to state and federal policy changes, communities across the United States have been developing strategies to undertake the large-scale and complex process of replacing millions of lead service lines (LSLs). These lead pipes supply drinking water to homes and risk exposing households to lead, which can have long-term repercussions for a child’s development and cause chronic health issues in an adult. The challenge of replacing LSLs is felt acutely in the heart of the Midwest—home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Seventh District, which comprises all of Iowa and most ...
Convening Identifies Key Resources for Communities Replacing Lead Service Lines
Communities across the United States are beginning to map and replace lead service lines (LSLs) to comply with new state and federal safe drinking water policies aimed at reducing the risk of lead exposure through drinking water.1 The states in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Seventh District—Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin—are estimated to have over 2 million lead pipes, according to a September 2023 report to Congress by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water; Illinois and Wisconsin rank among the top ten states with the most lead ...
Building Momentum in Northeast Wisconsin to Improve Access to Childcare
As part of the Chicago Fed’s Spotlight on Childcare and the Labor Market, I reached out to community contacts in Wisconsin to hear perspectives on childcare access within the state. I learned that there is an emerging ecosystem of cross-sector partners who are coming together to address childcare challenges in Northeast Wisconsin. These organizations report that coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, access to childcare in Northeast Wisconsin has become more difficult for working parents in terms of affordability and availability. The Greater Fox Valley Child Care Alliance, which is focused ...