When people think of lead contamination in Washington, D.C., they may assume the issue only affects poor communities. But that’s far from the truth. It’s a citywide crisis that affects everyone in D.C., regardless of neighborhood or income. We all share the same water system. Whether you live in a high-rise in Georgetown or a poorly managed public housing property in Anacostia, if your water pipes contain lead, the risks are the same.
Public safety in D.C. is often framed in terms of crime rates, policing, or infrastructure. But public safety starts with something as basic as clean drinking water. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Samuel Pastore believes clean water is a critical part of public health and crime prevention.
“We have the tools to tackle this, but if people aren’t informed, those tools are useless,” Pastore said.
When the Flint, Mich., water crisis grabbed national attention, many people didn’t realize D.C. had faced an even worse crisis years earlier. Between 2001 and 2004, lead levels in the city’s water were alarmingly high. Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards, who helped expose Flint’s crisis, said D.C.’s water problem as devastating. He estimated 2,000 children in D.C. were never born because of high miscarriage rates due to lead exposure. An additional 200 fetal deaths were linked to the water contamination.
“The public health impact in D.C. was catastrophic, and we have the research to prove it,” Edwards said in a lecture in 2016. As of October 2024, city officials reported they were still in the process of replacing 35,000 lead service lines.
Think of lead poisoning like a slow leak in a tire — it’s not immediately obvious, but over time, the damage accumulates and leads to a bigger problem. The effects of lead exposure — especially on children — are severe and long-lasting. Lead poisoning can cause cognitive impairments, lower IQ, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems, Pastore warned. Children who are exposed to lead at a young age are more likely to struggle in school, and those academic struggles raise their chances of engaging in criminal behavior later in life. This is not just a problem for low-income families — it’s an issue for all of us.
Epidemiological studies have also linked lead exposure to crime rates. Research led by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at The George Washington University has shown a positive correlation between lead exposure and higher crime rates. Studies have demonstrated communities with higher lead levels also experience higher rates of violent crime.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has said there is “no safe level of lead exposure” for children. The CDC recently lowered the threshold for what’s considered dangerous, reducing the reference value for blood lead levels from five micrograms per deciliter to three and a half micrograms per deciliter, acknowledging even small amounts of lead can cause lasting harm.
But it’s not just children who are affected. Adults exposed to lead can suffer from high blood pressure, kidney damage, and neurological disorders. The damage is irreversible, making early intervention essential.
Jam’ya Shaw, a lifelong Washingtonian and a student success coach for City Year, expressed shock when she learned about the extent of lead contamination in D.C.’s water.
“I work with kids who have developmental issues every day, and some of the things I see are really extreme,” Shaw said. “It’s not crazy to think lead poisoning could be a big reason why.”
As a mother, Shaw also worries about her 22-month-old daughter, Journee.
“As a parent, it’s really scary,” Shaw said. “I keep wondering — am I poisoning my child? Did I give them lead-tainted water? It sounds silly, but as a mom, those thoughts are always in my head.”
Shaw’s concerns are shared by parents, educators, and health care professionals across D.C. Flint’s water crisis became a national story because the problem was visible. The water was brown, foul-smelling, and caused immediate health symptoms, making it impossible for residents to ignore. In D.C., however, the contamination was silent — no bad smell, no visible signs that the water was unsafe. This made it easier for officials to downplay the problem, and without a loud outcry, the issue flew under the radar. The effects of lead poisoning are lifelong, and the city must take immediate action to prevent further harm.
D.C. Water offers free lead testing kits and resources for replacing lead pipes, but the government has done very little to inform residents about these resources. Many people in D.C. still don’t know they can get their water tested for free or receive financial help to replace lead pipes in their homes. Pastore, the ANC commissioner, is working to share the information with his neighbors.
Here’s how it works:
- Request a free lead test kit from the D.C. Water website.
- Once you get the kit, follow the instructions to collect a water sample.
- Send the sample to D.C. Water for analysis.
- If lead is detected, you’ll get information on how to replace contaminated pipes.
But without proper outreach, many people never take the steps to protect themselves and their families because they don’t know these services exist.The lead contamination in D.C. is not just a problem for a select few — it’s a crisis that affects us all. The government needs to take immediate action to raise awareness and make sure every resident knows how to protect themselves from this dangerous, invisible threat.
For more information or to request a free lead test, visit www.dcwater.com.
