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Ted Phillips
Newsday See the full article. Glen Cove is launching a program to remove old lead pipes that connect residents’ homes to the water main. The city expects to have the program, which is funded through a state grant, in place by the end of the year. Ever wondered what your water pipes are made out of? Use this City of Calgary map to find out12/8/2020
CHRISTIAN KINDRACHUK
Calgary Journal See the full article. Calgary homeowners and renters alike are able to find out what their water pipes are made of, thanks to a new interactive map published by the City of Calgary. The city’s Public Water Service Lines map provides information about the public portion of a water line — which falls within the city’s jurisdiction — but not for the private side, which is managed by the property owner. “The city’s Open Data portal is provided in the spirit of openness, accountability, and transparency,” reads a statement from Sheila Johnstone, media relations for the city. Residents can type in their address and see what material makes up the public service line that brings water to their property from the city’s water mains. Once it is typed in, information about the material type will appear, along with installation data information and pipe diameter. The map is included within the ‘lead and water service lines’ section of the city’s water services webpage, several clicks away from the City of Calgary homepage. See the full article. Water Quality Products Magazine
CRISTINA TUSER See the full article. Joliet, Illinois is starting another phase of its program to replace lead service lines. Approximately 800 lead service lines will have been replaced by sometime next year, according to Utilities Director Allison Swisher, reported the Herald News. Joliet is in the process of identifying lead service lines, which bring water from the city main to the house. The city currently has an interactive map on its website to help residents determine if their homes may have lead service lines. The city has not allowed lead to be used in service lines for more than 80 years, but it is still found in older homes. The Illinois EPA is providing approximately $4 million to fund the next phase of the lead-line replacement program. There will be a projected 600 lead service lines that will be replaced in Phase Two of the program, added Swisher. The total will be close to 800. Phase Two will focus on homes on the near East and West sides of Joliet. See the full article. Phil Goldstein
State Tech Read the full article Using a machine learning predictive model, the city will try to accelerate the identification of lead water service lines. Toledo, Ohio, made the replacement of 30,000 lead water service lines a key priority last year to improve public safety, and now the city wants to accelerate the effort by leveraging artificial intelligence. The city will develop a machine learning program to determine where lead pipes might be located and then identify and prioritize which homes need to have their pipes replaced first. As the Environmental Protection Agency notes, “lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels.” “The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures,” the EPA states. “In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water.” In recent years, cities across the country have made the replacement of lead water service lines a top priority, though the response has been sluggish in some cities. The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree that there is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood, and lead in children’s blood can lead to behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, anemia, and even death. Read the full article Chris Mertes
Sun Prairie Star Read the full article. After receiving approval from the Public Service Commission, Sun Prairie Utilities (SPU) will begin its lead line replacement program, according to SPU Utility Manager Rick Wicklund. In conjunction with the City of Sun Prairie Ordinance created on Aug. 21, 2018 requiring homeowners to replace lead customer-side water services, SPU has developed and received Public Service Commission approval for the Lead Service Line Replacement Program that provides financial assistance for replacements. Having currently confirmed 98 lead services, SPU estimates that 225 customer-side services of the pre-1940 vintage are constructed of lead material. Wicklund said as part of its advanced metering implementation, SPU is continuously identifying customer-side lateral service materials. In comparison to the almost 60 Wisconsin Municipal Utilities with over 4,000 meters (Class AB), Sun Prairie has a very low exposure to lead services (many municipals have thousands, with Milwaukee leading the state with around 150,000 as reported in 2019). Read the full article. Madison O'Brien
WAND 17 Read the full article. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a total of $116 million to modernize water infrastructure in Illinois. The money will impact cities across the state, even in Springfield. Todd LaFountain, water division manager for City Water Light and Power (CWLP), said nearly $1 million was granted to the organization for lead service line replacement. "We anticipate replacing 150 service lines under the current program," LaFountain said. "We started 35 to 40 of those replacements, and we hope to wrap that up by July of 2021." According to LaFountain, lead pipes have been in Springfield for decades, and those pipes can eventually lead to contaminated drinking water. WNYC News
Karen Yi See the full article. Newark's schools are getting a $7.5 million federal grant to upgrade water infrastructure and eliminate lead from its drinking supply. Lead leaches into the water from old pipes and fixtures still present in many of the buildings that, on average, are 95 years old. Newark Schools Superintendent Roger Leon said the money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "will undoubtedly move us from mitigating to eliminating." High levels of lead were first reported in the schools in 2016 and since then the district has spent millions of dollars rolling out testing programs and installing filters at water fountains and kitchen sinks. "We have installed lead reduction filters...on every drinking fountain and every potable water, the areas where they prepare food, so anyone drinking the water can be assured its safe," said Steven Morlino, director of facilities management for Newark schools. See the full article. ABC 57
Roxie Elliott See the original article. BENTON HARBOR, Mich.—The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday announced that it will award Benton Harbor with a $5.6 million grant to remove lead service lines. "Even the tragedy in Flint, only three hours from here, was not enough to get the federal government to act fast to ensure something like this would not happen again," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. "That’s why I’m happy to announce the awarding of nearly $40 million in grants across the country through the WIIN Act." The grant will also be used to support a study to optimize the city’s lead corrosion control treatment. Grant funds will be used specifically to help replace as many residential lead service lines as possible. Service lines will be replaced with copper piping from the water main to the home’s service connection. Officials said at the announcement that the grant will provide clean, lead-free drinking water to city residents. "Old pipes will be replaced from the water main to the homes of service connection and include both private and public portions of the lead service line," said Wheeler. "Existing lead pipe posed a risk to residents and without this funding the homeowner would have to pay for the private portion of the service connection." Only 10 cities were chosen as recipients of the grant - in addition to Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids will also have lead pipes replaced. Contributions to this story also made by: Shannon Nolan WoodTv.com
See the full article. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A significant grant is coming to Grand Rapids to help make the city’s water safer. The Environmental Protection Agency is giving the city a $5.1 million grant to help replace lead service lines in 17 Grand Rapids neighborhoods considered to be disadvantaged. These areas have a concentration of lead pipes and have been known to mostly have old lead pipes between the main line and their homes. The grant’s goal is to help reduce how many homes have water flowing through those potentially dangerous pipes. “I strongly encourage residents and businesses to take advantage of the opportunity to have service lines replaced when approached to do so. Encourage residents to have plumbing inspected to you know if you have any other exposure,” said Bonnifer Ballard, executive director of the American Water Works Association-Michigan. Benton Harbor is also getting a $5.6 million grant. The nearly $40 million grant program is going to 10 cities. See the full article. Water Online
Pete Antoniewicz A white paper recently released by the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) provides insights on how water utilities can better use data to manage uncertainty around remaining lead-service-line (LSL) customer connections. The document, Principles of Data Science for Lead Service Line Inventories and Replacement Programs, represents the organization’s commitment to making information accessible to assist state program administrators in protecting public health. It was developed for ASDWA by BlueConduit, a water-infrastructure analytics consulting company. Read the full article. |
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