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Worksheet Grade 11 Social Studies & Civics

Sourcing the Lead and Copper Rule: A Grade 11 Document Worksheet

A grade 11 civics worksheet where students source three documents on federal lead rules and judge whether a fictional city must accelerate pipe replacement.

Objectives

  1. Students will source three documents by identifying each one's author, purpose, and audience.
  2. Students will compare a fictional city's lead result against the current and future federal action levels.
  3. Students will integrate three documents to recommend whether the city should accelerate lead pipe replacement.

Vocabulary

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.
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.
Corrosion control
Treatment that keeps water from slowly eating away at the inside of pipes. It helps stop metals like lead from getting into drinking water.

Also: 90th percentile, sourcing, compliance

Teacher overview

Federal drinking-water rules are written by one agency, enforced through state programs, and felt by residents whose pipes may still contain lead. This worksheet gives students three short documents written for this resource, a plain summary of the federal Lead and Copper Rule, a sampling notice from the fictional city of Kingsbury, and a resident's letter, and asks them to source each one and then integrate them. Students compare Kingsbury's reported lead level against both the current federal action level and the lower level that takes effect in 2027, then recommend whether the city should move faster on replacing its lead service lines.

Sourcing the Lead and Copper Rule: A Grade 11 Document Worksheet — Grade 11 Social Studies & Civics
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read the three documents, all written for this worksheet about the fictional city of Kingsbury.

Document A (federal rule summary): Under federal rules, the lead action level is 15 ppb (parts per billion), and it drops to 10 ppb in 2027. The updated rule also requires water systems to replace nearly all lead service lines, the pipes connecting a water main to a home, within about 10 years. Based on the service line inventories utilities reported in 2025, EPA estimates that about 4 million lead service lines remain in water systems across the country, and lead in drinking water disproportionately affects lower-income communities.

Document B (Kingsbury utility sampling notice): The Kingsbury Water Department reports that its most recent round of tap sampling produced a 90th-percentile lead result of 12 ppb. The notice states that the department adds corrosion-control treatment and plans to replace lead service lines "as funding allows."

Document C (resident letter): A Kingsbury resident writes to the city council asking it to replace every lead service line within five years rather than the ten allowed, arguing that families near the older pipes should not have to wait.

  1. Source Document A: what kind of document is it, and what is its purpose?
  2. Source Document B: who wrote it, who is the audience, and why is a water utility required to notify customers about lead results?
  3. According to Document A, what is the current federal lead action level, and what will it become in 2027?
  4. By how many ppb does the federal action level fall in 2027?
  5. Kingsbury's 90th-percentile result is 12 ppb. Is that above or below the current action level, and above or below the 2027 level? State the difference in each case.
  6. Integrate Documents A and B: does Kingsbury exceed the action level now, and would its current result exceed the action level once it drops in 2027? Explain.
  7. Document A requires replacing the lead service lines, not only treating the water. Explain why removing the physical pipe matters even when a utility adds corrosion control.
  8. Document C claims families near older pipes should not have to wait. Which claim in Document C could you check against Document B, and does Document B support it?
  9. Identify two lawful actions residents of Kingsbury could take to push the city or utility to replace lead lines faster.
  10. Using all three documents, write a two-sentence recommendation to the Kingsbury city council about whether to accelerate lead service line replacement before 2027, and cite your evidence.

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

Answer Key
  1. Answer: A summary of a federal regulation. Its purpose is to inform readers of the legal action level and the service-line replacement requirement, so it functions as a neutral reference rather than an argument.
  2. Answer: The Kingsbury Water Department wrote it for its customers. Utilities must notify customers because public disclosure of lead results is part of complying with the rule and lets residents make decisions about their own water.
  3. Answer: 15 ppb now, dropping to 10 ppb in 2027, as stated in Document A.
  4. Answer: 5 ppb. The level falls from 15 ppb to 10 ppb, a difference of 5 ppb.
  5. Answer: 12 ppb is 3 ppb below the current 15 ppb action level but 2 ppb above the 2027 level of 10 ppb.
  6. Answer: Kingsbury does not exceed the action level now, since 12 ppb is below 15 ppb, but its current result would exceed the 10 ppb level that takes effect in 2027. An action-level exceedance is not by itself a violation. It triggers required steps such as public notice, public education, and a review of corrosion-control treatment.
  7. Answer: Corrosion control coats pipes to reduce how much lead dissolves, but the coating can fail if water chemistry changes, so the lead remains a risk as long as the pipe is there; removing the physical line eliminates what is usually the largest source of lead, although household plumbing and fixtures can still contribute some.
  8. Answer: The letter's implied claim that some homes still face lead risk can be checked against Document B, which reports a 12 ppb result and lines replaced only "as funding allows." Document B supports the concern, since a measurable lead level and unreplaced lines remain.
  9. Answer: Reasonable examples: speaking at a city council meeting or rate hearing, organizing neighbors to petition the council, requesting a service-line inventory, contacting the state drinking-water agency, or voting on local funding measures. Any two lawful actions earn credit.
  10. Answer: Responses vary but should recommend a clear position supported by evidence, for example: Kingsbury should accelerate replacement because its 12 ppb result already exceeds the 2027 level of 10 ppb (Documents A and B), and residents living near older lines face avoidable risk (Document C). A strong answer cites at least two documents.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a number line marked at 10 ppb and 15 ppb with Kingsbury's 12 ppb result plotted, so students can see the comparisons in item 5 before calculating. Work item 4 together as a class.

Extension

Ask students to research, using a source the teacher provides or approves, what a "service-line inventory" is and why identifying which homes still have lead pipes must happen before replacement, then add that step to their recommendation in item 10.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "action level," "lead service line," "90th percentile," and "compliance" with simple definitions and a labeled diagram of a service line connecting a main to a house. Allow sourcing items 1 and 2 to be answered in short phrases.