Replace the Pipes, Invest in People

Beneath Chicago’s streets lie more lead pipes than in any other U.S. city. These lead service lines (LSLs)—i.e., pipes made of lead that carry water from the public water main into homes—can contaminate drinking water and pose serious health risks. Although the city began its LSL replacement program in 2021, the 2024 federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) will require the city to replace approximately 20,000 pipes a year, beginning in November 2027.

Meeting the federal timeline will require a larger workforce, creating an opportunity for the city to build employment pathways for residents in historically underinvested neighborhoods. In Chicago, predominantly Black neighborhoods have the highest unemployment rates as well as disproportionately high rates of LSLs. For Black residents on the South and West Sides, LSL replacement should become a chance to pursue well-paying jobs in the water workforce, witness economic growth in neighborhoods that have seen historical disinvestment, and access safer drinking water that families today and future generations rightfully deserve.

To achieve these goals, this brief proposes that government officials, contractors, unions, and educational institutions align around a project labor agreement as a framework to equitably scale Chicago’s water workforce and lay the foundation for a coordinated water infrastructure workforce ecosystem.