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Worksheet Grade 10 Social Studies & Civics

Calumet vs. Deering: Comparing Two States' Lead Pipe Rules

A grade 10 worksheet comparing two fictional states' lead service line replacement plans against the federal timeline, with pace calculations and policy evaluation.

Objectives

  1. Students will calculate how long each state's plan takes to replace all of its lead service lines.
  2. Students will compare each plan against the federal replacement timeline and action level.
  3. Students will evaluate the intended and unintended outcomes of a slower replacement schedule.

Vocabulary

Lead service line
A lead service line is an old water pipe made of lead metal that connects a house to the water main. Lead can get into the drinking water, so these pipes are being dug up and replaced across the country.
Action level
A trigger number in lead and copper testing. If too many homes test above this level, the utility must take steps like improving treatment and telling the public.

Also: compliance, cost-share, unintended outcome

Teacher overview

The federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements set a national deadline for removing lead pipes, and each water system must write a replacement plan that its state oversees. In this worksheet, each fictional state's figures stand for the combined plans of the water systems inside it. This worksheet gives students two fictional state plans to compare against that federal rule. Students calculate how long each plan takes, decide which state is on track, and evaluate the tradeoffs of a slower schedule.

Calumet vs. Deering: Comparing Two States' Lead Pipe Rules — Grade 10 Social Studies & Civics
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Use these federal facts and two state plans for every item.

Federal rule: The lead action level is currently 15 ppb and drops to 10 ppb in 2027. The rule also requires water systems to replace nearly all lead service lines within about 10 years. EPA estimates that about 4 million lead service lines remain across the country.

The state of Calumet has 200,000 lead service lines and plans to replace 25,000 each year.

The state of Deering has 180,000 lead service lines and plans to replace 12,000 each year.

  1. Under the federal rule, what value does the lead action level drop to in 2027?
  2. At its planned pace, how many years will Calumet take to replace all of its lead service lines?
  3. At its planned pace, how many years will Deering take to replace all of its lead service lines?
  4. The federal rule sets an approximate 10-year deadline. Which state's current plan meets that deadline?
  5. How many more lines per year would Deering need to replace to finish within 10 years?
  6. Deering says its slower plan keeps yearly costs lower for ratepayers. Name one unintended outcome of finishing about 5 years late, and who it would affect.
  7. Suppose the federal government offers a grant that pays half the cost of each line replaced in the first 5 years. Explain how that incentive would likely change Deering's choice.
  8. Explain why replacing lead service lines helps a state meet the stricter 10 ppb action level.
  9. A Deering resident asks why the state cannot simply finish in 2 years. Use the numbers to give one realistic reason it cannot.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key

Federal values (15 ppb, 10 ppb, about 4 million lines) are drawn from the stated facts; the two state plans are fictional.

  1. Answer: 10 ppb. The federal rule lowers the action level from 15 ppb to 10 ppb in 2027.
  2. Answer: 8 years. Dividing 200,000 lines by 25,000 lines per year gives 8 years.
  3. Answer: 15 years. Dividing 180,000 lines by 12,000 lines per year gives 15 years.
  4. Answer: Calumet. Its plan finishes in 8 years, within the roughly 10-year federal deadline, while Deering's takes 15 years.
  5. Answer: 6,000 more lines per year. Finishing 180,000 lines in 10 years needs 18,000 per year, and 18,000 minus the planned 12,000 is 6,000.
  6. Answer: Answers will vary. A strong answer names an outcome such as five more years of possible lead exposure and health risk, falling mainly on residents whose homes still have lead lines, often in lower-income neighborhoods.
  7. Answer: Answers will vary. The grant lowers the cost of each early replacement, so Deering would likely speed up its pace during the first 5 years to capture the cost-share before it ends.
  8. Answer: Lead in tap water usually comes from the lead service line itself, so removing the lines takes away the main source, making it easier to stay below a stricter 10 ppb limit.
  9. Answer: Finishing 180,000 lines in 2 years would require 90,000 per year, more than seven times the current pace, which is unrealistic given the crews, funding, and permits a state can line up that quickly.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a filled-in example using a third made-up state (100,000 lines at 10,000 per year equals 10 years) so students see the division method before item 2. Allow calculators.

Extension

Ask students to write a two-paragraph recommendation to Deering's legislature proposing a faster plan, stating the new yearly pace, the year it would finish, and one funding source that could pay for the added speed.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "lead service line," "action level," "compliance," "cost-share," and "unintended outcome" with a simple picture of a pipe running from a street main to a house. Allow items 6, 7, 8, and 9 to be answered in short phrases, and offer the frame "One result of finishing late is ___" for item 6.