The cost to replace 400,000 lead service lines will be more than $14 billion. The Johnson administration and Council members say the city doesn’t have the money. Chicago has more lead service lines than any other U.

Chicago must replace every toxic lead pipe connecting homes to water mains within two decades — an aggressive deadline imposed this week by President Joe Biden after his administration initially proposed giving city officials twice as long to complete the job.

The “historic” rule aims to eliminate a major source of lead poisoning and comes a decade after a drinking-water crisis in Flint, Mich.