--- description: The Natural Resources Defense Council found that over 5,000 US water systems violate rules meant to keep lead out of drinking water. title: U.S. Water Systems Violate Lead Rules Nationwide: Report image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [health](/tag/health/) ## health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Water Systems Violate Lead Rules Nationwide, a Report Finds by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 29, 2016 9:51 AM CUT by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 29, 2016 9:51 AM CUT More than 5,000 water systems across the country are violating rules meant to keep lead out of drinking water, advocates said Tuesday. While the case in Flint, Michigan has dominated headlines, cities and towns across the U.S. are in similar danger, the Natural Resources Defense Council found in a report. “We have got millions of Americans drinking water that poses health risks to them and their families,” the NRDC’s Erik Olson told reporters on a conference call. “Our analysis indicates that in 2015, over 18 million people were served by 5,363 community water systems that violated the Lead and Copper Rule,” the NRDC said… [_Read the rest from our partners at NBC News._](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/flint-water-crisis/water-systems-violate-lead-rules-nationwide-advocacy-group-finds-n600456?cid=par-time%5F20160629 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4386932/water-systems-violate-lead-rules-nationwide-flint/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4386932/water-systems-violate-lead-rules-nationwide-flint/"},"headline":"Water Systems Violate Lead Rules Nationwide, a Report Finds","datePublished":"2016-06-29T09:51:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:55:37.792Z","description":"\"We have got millions of Americans drinking water that poses health risks to them and their families\"","url":"https://time.com/4386932/water-systems-violate-lead-rules-nationwide-flint/","keywords":["health","Water","America"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health/","name":"health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4386932/water-systems-violate-lead-rules-nationwide-flint/","name":"Water Systems Violate Lead Rules Nationwide, a Report Finds"}}]}] ```