A new EPA report shows Syracuse has high levels of lead in its drinking water, whether city officials want to admit it or not.
Back in November of 2024, a coalition including the NYCLU and Families for Lead Freedom Now held a rally and press conference alerting the public to the lead water crises in Syracuse. Our press conference – which also included representatives from the National Resources Defense Council, EarthJustice, and Legal Services of Central New York – raised alarm over city water test results that showed Syracuse has some of the highest lead levels in the country.
After our rally, we met with local city officials about the ongoing lead crisis. During our meeting, we informed the officials that the National Resource Defense Council found that the more than 14,000 Syracuse homes receiving drinking water from lead service lines are at high risk of harm from lead-tainted water.
Lead impacts Black children in Syracuse the most. Statistics show nearly 12 percent of Black children in Syracuse’s Onondaga County had elevated lead levels compared to two percent of white children.
There are also severe long-term and permanent impacts from lead exposure. It is a potent neurotoxin and there is no safe level of exposure to it. Children with developing brains are most at risk of permanent damage.
Despite all of this, and even after our public and private advocacy with local officials, the city continued to publicly denounce our claims. Officials said, for example, that the high lead levels were simply a result of faulty testing. When our coalition provided an analysis showing further evidence of high lead levels, the city again dismissed the issue.
This summer, community advocates and organizations – including the NYCLU and Families for Lead Freedom Now – launched an effort to force the city of Syracuse to act. We held multiple community meetings and, in August, we submitted a petition with signatures from thousands of New Yorkers urging the Environmental Protection Agency to demand the City of Syracuse address its lead water crisis. The EPA heard our calls for environmental justice and acted.
Now, a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency proves what community members and organizations like ours have been saying for more than a year: There is a lead water problem. It’s serious, and Syracuse needs to do something about it.
The report issued by the EPA backs up everything we’ve been saying. It shows the city has been knowingly violating rules around lead exposure for years. The EPA also notes that the city’s plan for distributing water filters to residents was deeply flawed. And the report makes clear the city has done way too little to educate people about the dangers of lead and what they can do to protect themselves.
Along with its findings, the EPA issued an order under the Safe Water Drinking Act that recommends the city take several steps including improving corrosion control so that lead from pipes doesn’t leach into water, continuing to sample water for lead, and educating the public about the risks of lead and how to minimize their exposure.
This is an important step in our efforts to guarantee that Syracuse residents have access to safe and clean water. But the EPA’s order doesn’t go far enough. The EPA should have required the city to take the steps the agency outlines in its report, not just recommended them. Without the force of law behind these asks, the city may just continue to ignore the problem and let it fester.
The state can also use its legal authority to force Syracuse’s hand. Governor Hochul can require the city to declare a state of emergency to speed up the city’s plan to replace lead service pipes.
She can also mandate that Syracuse create a city-wide outreach plan to inform residents of the dangers and early signs of lead poisoning and publicize a plan to equitably replace all contaminated lead pipes. And the governor can require Syracuse to distribute “point-of-use” filters that can be directly installed on faucets and other water outlets.
Every New Yorker deserves to have access to clean water. None of us should have to worry that the water we put in our bodies is poisoning us or the ones we love. Syracuse officials can’t deny the crisis any longer. If they do, state and federal officials should force them to act.
