Adele Peters writes in Fast Company about BlueConduit, a company that is locating lead pipes in homes.
- While there is an overwhelming consensus on the need to remove lead pipes from homes, city governments often have trouble finding them. BlueConduit is a startup that is looking to address this issue.
- BlueConduit’s software pulls in data about the age of the home, neighborhood, and other factors to estimate the likelihood that a house or building is using lead pipes.
- In Flint, Michigan the startup used their software to find lead pipes 80% of the time.
- While the software does not offer a complete solution, BlueConduits innovative approach is key to reducing the harm that lead pipes can have on people and communities.
“In the cities where BlueConduit works, the tool helps save money by making it more likely that a dig will discover a pipe that needs replacement. ‘You can get the lead out sooner, so people are living with lead for less time, and there’s the money avoided,’ says Schwartz. ‘Thousands of dollars per dig that can be saved. And that money doesn’t just sit, that’s money going to active replacement of lead at a neighbor’s house.’ Cities typically need to remove thousands of service lines. In Trenton, New Jersey, for example, where BlueConduit is working now, there’s an estimated 37,000 lead service lines.”
Read the full article here.
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