WHO campaign features EPHI lead pipe replacement cost calculator
Environmental & Public Health International (EPHI), a Chicago-based drinking water compliance and training organisation, has announced that its Lead Service Line Replacement Cost Calculator (LSLRCC) was included in the World Health Organization's International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) 2025 campaign registry. The free, multilingual tool is designed to help governments, utilities, and public health bodies estimate and plan the cost of replacing lead water pipes.
The LSLRCC is separately recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Infrastructure Tools Navigator and has been listed on a range of UN-affiliated platforms over the past year. EPHI says the tool aligns with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), a federal regulation that tightened requirements for identifying and replacing lead service lines in public water systems.
What the tool does
The calculator is positioned as an infrastructure planning aid rather than a commercial product. It is free to use and available in multiple languages. EPHI says a recent update integrates a UNESCO-IHP WINS digital object identifier, intended to support citation in academic publications and drinking water infrastructure grant proposals. The organisation draws on its experience from the Flint, Michigan water crisis response and frames the tool as a resource for municipalities, Tribal Nations, and state agencies navigating LCRI compliance and applying for funding under the US Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which allocated significant capital for lead pipe replacement.
Anthony Ross, founder and director of EPHI, said lead exposure prevention "requires both public health awareness and practical infrastructure planning" and described the WHO inclusion as reflecting "growing international focus on equitable drinking water infrastructure."
Market and policy context
Lead service line replacement is one of the less-discussed components of water infrastructure investment, but it represents a substantial capital commitment across the United States and many lower-income countries. The EPA's LCRI, finalised in 2024, requires most public water systems to replace lead service lines within 10 years, a mandate that analysts have estimated could require tens of billions of dollars in spending. The BIL provides dedicated funding, but utilities still face the challenge of estimating project scope and accessing State Revolving Fund (SRF) financing, which is where planning tools of this kind are intended to add value.
Internationally, lead in drinking water remains a significant public health issue, particularly in markets where pipe infrastructure is ageing and replacement funding is constrained. UNEP and WHO have both flagged lead exposure as a preventable cause of childhood neurodevelopmental harm, lending institutional backing to initiatives that lower the planning cost for replacement programmes.
EPHI is also soliciting sponsorship from mission-aligned public, private, and non-profit organisations for the LSLRCC, though no sponsorship deals or funding amounts were disclosed in the announcement. The release does not contain deal terms, project finance figures, or deployment milestones of a kind that would signal direct market activity. Readers tracking capital deployment into water infrastructure should watch for BIL-funded replacement contracts and LCRI compliance filings from major utilities as the more consequential market indicators.