Updated: Dec 26, 2021
In an article on the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule and upcoming Federal funding for infrastructure, E&E News’ Hannah Northey quoted BlueConduit’s co-founder Eric Schwartz.
The challenge for using the funding efficiently will be the uncertainty in the location of the lead service lines affecting people’s drinking water.
“The fact that we don’t know exactly how many lead service lines there are nationwide, in any state, in any one community water system, is really the key problem here.” Eric Schwartz, BlueConduit co-Founder
The funding will be a historic allocation, yet will require planning for efficient use to protect and prioritize the health of the public.
“The reality is, there’s not enough money to do all the work that needs to be done….Because of that, the key is going to be prioritizing, and which communities and within those communities how to best allocate those resources, across states, within states, within water systems to do the most good with this constrained budget.” Eric Schwartz, BlueConduit co-Founder
The needs of underserved communities must be prioritized.
“For the environmental justice component here, we think that’s what is needed to be serious about breaking the cycle of what brought us here, which is that wealthy communities can afford services that help them save money and help them serve their communities and less wealthy water systems cannot.” Eric Schwartz, BlueConduit co-Founder quoted in E&E News
Read the Full Article
Read the full text of the article, “EPA lead rule points big cash to engineering firms,” on E&E News.
About BlueConduit
BlueConduit’s predictive model — a technology for which BlueConduit was named a TIME’s Best Invention of 2021 — characterizes lead service line probabilities on a home-by-home basis, enabling municipalities to budget and plan programs based on clear, actionable data. BlueConduit’s lead service line inventories expedite lead pipe removal and replacement by allowing officials to deploy targeted replacement efforts to high-risk homes. This approach saves cities millions of dollars in unnecessary pipe inspection dig-ups.
BlueConduit’s software was originally used in Flint, Michigan. Its successful deployment saved the city tens of millions of dollars and reduced the total number of days residents lived with a lead-tainted water supply. BlueConduit’s machine learning technology is now being used across the U.S. for lead service line replacement projects in cities such as Trenton, New Jersey, Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan. BlueConduit will help each city save millions in taxpayer dollars by eliminating unnecessary replacement costs.
