Lead was detected in seven of ten homes tested on a single block of New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward, according to a water quality investigation by Verite News and the Associated Press. Testing data from the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans shows that 70 percent of more than 1,100 households tested between 2022 and 2025 contained lead in their drinking water. The water utility predicts that between 50 percent and 60 percent of its 150,000 service lines will eventually require replacement to address the contamination.
The city faces a multiyear public health challenge. The S&WB estimates replacement of all lead pipes will cost approximately $1 billion and take until 2037, with mass replacement delayed until late 2027 after procurement disputes over contractor selection. Federal funds dedicated to lead-pipe replacement have expired, and state constitutional provisions bar public money from replacing pipes on private property.
The Extent of Contamination
When Katherine Prevost, a 72-year-old New Orleans resident, learned her tap water contained lead, she immediately changed her habits. She already drank bottled water, but she had relied on tap water for cooking gumbos and crawfish boils and for brushing her teeth. “Now that means that I can’t do that anymore,” Prevost said.
Lead was detected in seven of ten homes tested on Prevost’s Congress Street block in the Upper Ninth Ward. The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans’ inventory indicated that all the homes with lead detected likely had lead pipes on the city’s side of the meter.
The contamination extends across the entire city. Between September 2022 and May 2025, approximately 70 percent of more than 1,100 households that participated in the S&WB’s free water testing program had lead in their water. Almost every house with lead also exceeded the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended limit of one part per billion. The worst test recorded lead levels 100 times the federal action level.
The S&WB does not know the full extent of lead in the system, but the testing data from its first comprehensive program provides the most complete snapshot the city has. The program is ongoing and residents can still request water testing kits.
Timeline and Barriers to Replacement
The lead pipes are aging infrastructure from more than a century of water system development. “Lead is rather ubiquitous in our water, it is all around us,” said Adrienne Katner, an LSU professor known for her research on lead and drinking water.
The S&WB predicts that 50 percent to 60 percent of its 150,000 metered service lines will need some portion replaced. At current costs, the utility estimates replacing all lead pipes by 2037 will cost approximately $1 billion. So far, the S&WB has secured $152 million in funding from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund.
The utility initially planned to start mass replacement in fall 2025, but the timeline has shifted. The S&WB now plans to begin construction in late 2027, a one-year delay driven by contractor-selection disputes. S&WB Executive Director Randy Hayman overruled a hearing examiner’s decision in December 2025, citing the failure to include a required public health expert on the selection committee. The decision led to a re-solicitation of the contractor process.
“The reality is, to change out service lines, it’s going to be a very long and very expensive project for us. This is not an overnight fix,” said Rebecca Johnsey, S&WB’s deputy general superintendent of water programs.
In the interim, the S&WB has begun targeted replacements. As of December 2025, the utility had replaced lines serving 14 schools and 144 residences, with three additional replacements scheduled at schools. The utility has also conducted more than 350 service line inspections.
Regulatory pressures are mounting alongside these constraints. Federal standards for lead in drinking water are being tightened—the current federal action level is 15 parts per billion, but it will be reduced to 10 ppb in 2027 under the updated Lead and Copper Rule, which requires all water systems to replace their lead pipes by 2037.
Though the S&WB’s water currently complies with federal standards, federal officials acknowledge that those standards do not protect residents from harmful lead exposure. The EPA requires 90 percent of homes tested as part of a small survey to have less lead than the federal action level to remain compliant. This system-level standard can mask dangerous exposures in individual homes.
Federal funding for lead-line replacements has created additional urgency—and uncertainty. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated $15 billion for lead line replacements across the country. That funding has ended. Additionally, Congress redirected $125 million from the existing funding pool to wildfire prevention.
A state constitutional provision further constrains the utility’s options. Current law prevents public money from replacing lead lines on private property. “We are actively seeking legislative changes to be able to do that because we would like to be able to get these full replacements on service lines free of cost to the customer, both on the private and the public side,” Johnsey said. In 2024, state lawmakers had already removed one barrier by allowing municipalities to permit utilities to enter private property for lead-line replacement with sufficient notice.
Health Risks and Protective Measures
Lead poses particular danger to infants and children. The neurotoxin can pass through a pregnant woman to her fetus and harm fetal development, potentially leading to premature birth. “Lead can pass through a pregnant woman to her fetus, harming development and potentially leading to premature births,” said Megan Maraynes, an emergency room pediatrician at Manning Family Children’s.
Lead affects brain development in young children. Newborns absorb lead more easily than older children or adults and receive higher doses even at low levels. By the time effects become visible—as IQ loss, trouble in school, and behavioral issues—the damage is irreversible.
“What we are really speaking about is irreversible brain damage that leads to learning disabilities and impulse control issues,” Katner said. “The first dose of lead has the greatest impact.”
The effects extend into adulthood. Lead increases blood pressure and damages kidneys, contributing to hypertension, heart disease, and strokes even at low levels. A 2018 study found that low-level, cumulative lead exposure could contribute to 412,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease in the United States annually.
“There is no treatment for the damage caused by lead,” Katner said. “All we can do is prevent exposure and ameliorate its impact.”
Until their pipes are replaced, residents can take protective steps. Lead in water can spike when water lines are disturbed—whether through meter replacement, street work, or other infrastructure projects. When water lines are worked on, residents should flush cold water through their pipes before use by running cold water in a bathtub or shower for several minutes.
For formula feeding, pediatricians recommend filtering tap water or using bottled water. The S&WB provides free lead-filtering water pitchers upon request to residents with lead water lines, though it does not provide free replacement filters after the first six months.
Residents should look for filters certified to reduce lead by NSF International, which independently tests products.
Prevost remains concerned about the timeline. “We just sitting here with busted pipes. You can see the water leaking from under the ground, bubbling up when it’s raining,” she said. “I have to pick my battles.”
She has not had her blood tested for lead, though she wonders whether the heavy metal could have contributed to her autoimmune disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Other senior residents on her block have similar health issues and also had lead detected in their water.
“Is the lead affecting our health? What diseases come from the lead and the pipes? Those are questions that need to be answered,” Prevost said.