I don’t doubt they have a contaminated water supply but I don’t buy the lead pipe problem. Lead, while not the best for water pipe, has been used for centuries, at least as far back as Roman times. Every Great in history, DaVinchi, Copernicus, even Einstein and Curie lived their lives drinking water from lead pipes. Old lead pipes usually have a rather thick mineral coating on the inside which prevents water from contacting the metal; a coating so thick it often closes the pipe.
A lot of stuff I read says the one of the main reasons Rome fell was because they all drank out of lead pitchers and they were all stunted both physically and mentally.
Here’s one article fwiw...
The ancient Romans used to store wine in lead containers because it made the wine taste sweeter - there were also a lot of psychotic Roman elites....
You are correct about lead pipes developing a thick coating but it can be destroyed rather quickly if chlorine is used for disinfection and /or acid is over feed for pH control. then you have a lead problem. Most water systems have come a long way since the safe drinking water act of 1974. Before that there was no national standards for water quality. each municipal system set its own standards.
About 25 years ago my brother joined a multi level marketing company that sold under counter water purifiers. Part of their sales pitch was this:
“The quality of the water coming out of your tap today will never again be as good as it is today.”
For a lot of cities, it looks like they were right. We live in the sticks and the city just started supplying city water here about 11 years go. Still, My wife and I use a reverse osmosis purification system in the cottage we live in. It’s too easy and cheap.