A Citizen's Advocacy for Removal of 20,000 Lead Service Lines in Des Moines

…By Diana Sickles

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A letter from Diana Sickles, Des Moines

Letter from Diana Sickles:

“A problem named is a problem solved.” I want to think this quote is correct. I’ve been working as a citizen of Des Moines on the issue of lead service lines (LSL), which go from the Des Moines Water Works main line that links up to the pipes that transport the water into your home. Some of them, we don’t know how many, carry lead-poisoned water into one’s home. The homeowner may not even know they have a problem with the water they are drinking or cooking with. I learned about the hazard of lead poisoning when a friend sent me an article about it. That was October 2021, and it has been a focus of mine since then to rid Des Moines of all 20,000 of the LSLs. Why? Because in 2018, I helped form a non-profit, Nutrition 4 Young Children. We hold Healthy Baby Showers together with the Iowa State Extension office for Polk County. The Extension staff helps us teach low-income pregnant women, in Spanish and English, about the importance of eating adequate and nutritious food so that the baby growing inside the expectant mom can build a healthy brain and body. The article I read in 2021 alerted me to the problem. A problem that needed to be solved. Lead poisoning causes severe health hazards to everyone, but infants and children under 6, whose brains and bodies are growing rapidly, are the most vulnerable. At a Des Moines City Council meeting, the DMWW stated they were committed to replacing all 20,000 LSL by 2038, 15 years from now. I’m having trouble seeing that a plan has been developed to ensure this goal will be reached. There are some ‘good’ news items here:

• The DMWW and the City Council agree they want to get the lines replaced.

• DMWW knows where the 20,000 LSLs are located.

• The City of Des Moines is replacing all the sewer lines in Des Moines, so it is tearing up the entire city, neighborhood by neighborhood. This provides an excellent opportunity to replace the LSLs while the sewer lines are being replaced, neighborhood by neighborhood.

The downsides are:

• DMWW is finding it hard to get funding.

• The complication is that the property owner owns the LSL and is thus responsible for replacing it.

• It is expensive

• I haven’t seen any evidence that the city is even talking about how to accomplish the 2038 goal

• If we will accomplish the goal in 15 years, we need to replace 1,333+ LSLs every year. Why do I care?

• I am interested in raising more healthy children in Des Moines. What can I do?

• Be Informed.

• Work with everyone involved to help establish a plan and the will and commitment to put it on the priority list: City Council, DMWW, Polk County Board of Supervisors; Polk County Health Department, Broadlawns Medical Center, Iowa Environmental Council, Neighborhood Association, IDHHS, State legislature, interested reporters and journalists, interested citizens… I like President John F Kennedy's quote about eliminating hunger: We have the ability, we have the means, and we have the capacity to eliminate hunger from the face of the earth. We only need the will. Emphasis on the need for the ‘will.’ First, we need the will to replace all the LSLs in Des Moines. I’m hoping to help with that with my focus and advocacy.

• Educate the public through the Des Moines Neighborhood Assn. There are 49 association neighborhoods in Des Moines. All have a leader. All work with the folks in their neighborhood to better their neighborhood

• Continue advocacy with the city council, DMWW, and Board of Health and Supervisors. You can help:

• If you live in Des Moines, you can introduce me to your Neighborhood Assn. leader in your neighborhood. Get informed. Advocate for replacing the LSL.

• Do you know other cities in Iowa that have replaced or are in the process of replacing LSLs? This might be an avenue to learn from others.

• Do you influence stakeholders that could help bring the necessary focus, emphasis, and power to this issue?

• Could you write an article of your own to advance this goal?

• Can you give me suggestions, make helpful comments, and help me consider other avenues or questions that must be addressed? As I said to the City Council at their last meeting, it will take all of us to be engaged and see this as an essential health issue for us as a community that cares to accomplish this goal. This is the beginning of a story that will develop over time. Don’t you think we should put this on the priority list? Our first federal law outlawing the installation of LSLs was instituted in 1940, 83 years ago. Considering the negative consequences for breastfeeding mothers, infants, and children six and under. It’s time we solved this issue in all our communities.

Diana Sickle, Des Moines, IA

Sources: 1) Lead in Drinking Water, CDC 2/28/23; 2)Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water, EPA, 1/27/2023; 3) Lead "Service Lines, DMWW, 2021; Lead Pipes are Widespread and Used in Every State, NRDC, 7/8/2021; Water health Series Filtration Facts EPA Brochure, 9/2005

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Letters from Iowans are submitted by subscribers to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. If you have an issue or essay you would like to have included, please use this submission form: Letters Submission