LSLR In the News: Cities left behind

By on August 29, 2022

August 26, 2022 – Associated Press Reporter Michael Phillis spoke with Radhika Fox of the US EPA Department of Water, Eric Oswalt of Michigan’s Drinking Water Division, Erik Olson of NRDC, and Eric Schwartz of BlueConduit among others.

The article, which focused on Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Iowa, covered the different commitments and progress of different states in the nation towards lead service line replacement.

After the lead crisis in Flint, officials in Michigan accelerated efforts to locate their pipes, a first step toward removal.

But other places are moving more slowly.

Michael Phillis, AP reporter (full text)

States have different amounts of federal funding available and different preparedness to apply and receive it. That means some cities may be left behind, without funding, to remove their lead pipes.

“If you don’t get your act together and you don’t submit an application, you’re not going to get the money,”

Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council (profile)

Of course, what’s most important is to reduce lead exposure for the vulnerable, as there is no safe amount of lead in drinking water.

“The issue right now is we want to reduce the time that vulnerable folks are living with lead exposure,”

Eric Schwartz, co-CEO of BlueConduit

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Dunrie Greiling

About Dunrie Greiling

Dunrie Greiling is BlueConduit’s VP of Marketing. She combines her training in science (biology Ph.D., University of Michigan) with her two decades of experience in tech startups. Prior to joining BlueConduit, she worked in science-based software and device companies in many roles, as an employee, as a consultant, and as an advisor and entrepreneur-in-residence.