Testimony by Larry Martin, PhD to the DC Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment Performance Oversight Hearing on DC Water
Councilmember Allen, thank you for this opportunity to testify at this oversight hearing on DC Water, and thank you for your leadership. My name is Larry Martin, and I am the Water and Natural Places Committee Chair of the Sierra Club District of Columbia Chapter. The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In DC, we have about 2,100 dues-paying members and many thousands of additional supporters.
Sierra Club is alarmed that the pace of lead service line replacement is not rising to the urgent need to eliminate exposure to lead. Public health experts agree that there is no safe level for lead exposure for any age group. While other cities, like Newark NJ, have moved quickly to replace lead service lines, DC makes bold pronouncements about goals, but backtracks on budget and has failed to pass necessary legislation on lead service line replacement (LSLR) programs. Changes to the service line inventory classifications resulted in DC Water’s new estimate of 41,157 lead (or unknown) service lines needing replacement. The Lead-Free DC program’s costs are now estimated to be $1.5-$1.8 billion over the program’s lifecycle. DC Water’s target deadline for replacing all lead service lines in the District is 2030, contingent upon sufficient funding being made available. We do not see how the existing budget will meet this deadline, especially with likely cutbacks in federal funding that have supplemented the program. Funding for the program should be among the District’s highest priorities.
Importantly, the legislation introduced in 2024, and reintroduced in 2025 as bills B26-0111 and B26-0092 addresses the urgent need for timely and cost-effective replacement of lead service line. It is critical that any legislation include provisions for clear public messaging explaining that all residents with lead pipes are at risk of lead poisoning, and that all households should have their water tested properly because many types of in-house plumbing can also release lead. This legislation should be prioritized, finalized and passed by the DC Council immediately.
Many chemicals that circulate widely in society end up as contaminants in our sewage, and drinking water. Of increasing concern are polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), which are widely present in household products and have been found in sewage sludge. Sierra Club partnered with DC Water to prepare a report on the cumulative risks associated with public use of DC Water’s biosolid soil amendment product, which includes potential PFAS contamination. The DC Council helped to fund the report in the FY2018 budget. Phase one of the report is nearing completion and will be presented to the Council this calendar year. The report comes alongside growing awareness of the dangers of PFAS, including regulatory and scientific actions taken by the EPA throughout 2024: a regulatory standard for PFAS in drinking water; the designation of several forms of PFAS as hazardous waste under the Superfund law; and scientific standards for concentrations of PFAS found in natural waterbodies. Sierra Club and DC Water agree that to reduce contamination of the biosolids we see a need for greater public education on how to reduce use and disposal of PFAS containing products into the District’s wastewater.
Sierra Club has closely followed the efforts by DC Water to implement the compliance agreement between the District and US EPA for the mitigation of stormwater overflow into our surface waters. DC Water’s progress in tunnel construction and green infrastructure is satisfactory and the improved quality of surface waters where the projects have been completed demonstrates the effectiveness of the plan and technology implementation.
Finally, Sierra Club highlights DC Water’s efforts to use their resources to expand clean energy options for the District. The anaerobic biodigestion of sewage for energy recovery meets 1/3 of DC Water’s energy requirements, and they are the single largest user of electricity in DC. They demonstrated at their new headquarters on the Anacostia waterfront that heating and cooling using heat pumps connected to sewer lines is a viable, highly efficient source of energy for DC. Sierra Club recommends that the District government advance opportunities to develop the thermal resource of DC’s sewers.
Sierra Club contact: Larry Martin, PhD, Chair Committee on Water and Natural Places lmartindc@gmail.com