Filters for DC: Provide Safe Water without Lead or Plastic

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council of the District of Columbia

There are 42,000 lead pipes in Washington, DC—exposing thousands of residents to this dangerous neurotoxin. While pipe replacement is in progress, the process could take years to complete. Right now, residents need immediate access to safe drinking water—and they shouldn’t have to rely on or pay for harmful, polluting plastic bottled water.

Water filters are a proven, immediate, and cost-effective solution already distributed in cities nationwide to protect households from lead. Safe drinking water must not be left to individual households to secure on their own.

Sign the petition to demand free water filters and replacement cartridges for all impacted households in DC. Demand #Filters4DC now!

To: Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council of the District of Columbia
From: [Your Name]

No amount of lead exposure is safe. Low-income, Black, and brown neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.—especially in Wards 5, 7, and 8—face disproportionate risks from lead-contaminated tap water. Infants, children, and pregnant people are particularly vulnerable. Despite district-wide education efforts about the dangers of lead exposure—including messaging at bus stops—over 42,000 households are threatened by lead pipes. Urgent action is still needed to protect D.C. residents from lead-contaminated drinking water.

Without access to safe tap water, many residents turn to costly single-use plastic bottles—adding financial strain and exposing themselves to toxic chemicals and microplastics leaching from the bottles. Plastic bottles, like most plastics, are rarely recycled and end up landfilled, incinerated, or polluting our communities and environment while also causing long term harm to our health.

Water filters remove toxic lead from tap water, helping families avoid both lead poisoning and plastic pollution. Safe, clean water must be a guaranteed right—not a burden to bear. We need immediate action from DC leadership to distribute water filters to families impacted by lead pipes.