Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Unearthing Lead Service Lines: An Operational Geospatial Data Platform
EPA Contract Number: 68HERC22C0006Title: Unearthing Lead Service Lines: An Operational Geospatial Data Platform
Investigators: Hecht, David
Small Business: Unearth Technologies Inc
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022
Project Amount: $100,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I (2022) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , SBIR - Water
Description:
Lead contamination in drinking water, specifically from Lead Service Lines (LSLs), represents a known public health hazard that has broad public and legislative support to address. The identification and replacement of LSLs requires significant Federal support through funding, coordination, and technology assistance to increase efficiency and offset the economic impacts for smaller and already economically disadvantaged communities that are disproportionately affected, with broad implications for the health of our economy and local communities.
Today, we’re faced with a perfect storm:
- The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and upcoming improvements (LCRI) are the most significant water regulation in 30 years - with major requirements for documenting and getting the lead out of the ground.
- In conjunction with these new rules, our country is taking a serious look at its aging infrastructure, and there is historic funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act and American Rescue Plan for lead service line identification and replacement.
- Finally, the White House has made replacing lead pipes a centerpiece of its infrastructure agenda - creating more pressure and a potentially even more aggressive timeline for lead service line replacement than that in the current LCRR.
However, for many water systems, the data and technology isn’t there:
There are currently estimated to be over 68,000 public water systems in the United States. Each public water system is unique: the LSL data availability and challenges are varied, and the technologies, tools, and methods used to gather data are different.
Without innovation, these challenges will…
● Prevent significant efficiency gains
● Increase cost and decrease investment impact
● Extend LSLR timelines
● Impede data-driven decision making
● Compound existing workforce and financial challenges
● Inhibit accurate compliance and reporting
● And ultimately, negatively impact the health of our communities
Our Research
Therefore, public water systems must find innovative ways to rapidly identify, digitize, and process LSL related data - so this information can be actionable in the field. With this inventory, public municipalities can accurately map, report, and replace LSLs, while providing policymakers with standardized data to better coordinate and target assistance to those most at risk.
The research conducted by Unearth Technologies investigated Lead Service Line (LSL) data challenges at three public water systems to better inform development of innovative algorithms and collection methods to process bulk structured and unstructured LSL data, making it available and actionable within Unearth’s OnePlace platform.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Through our research, we identified significant variability in LSL data availability, content, and quality across the public water systems we analyzed.
It is clear many public water systems simply do not have the data they need to create a thorough inventory. This is particularly true for smaller systems, as well as private-side service line data for systems of all sizes, which historically was the homeowner’s responsibility in most communities. It is also clear from our research that many smaller systems lack the workforce capacity or resources to field-verify all LSL data.
Drawing together historical records, institutional knowledge, and information from siloed legacy systems will not be a magic bullet solution. The data is simply not reliable. Almost always, LSL data will need to be confirmed in the field by water system crews, customers, plumbers, or other third parties.
This introduces two key questions for many public water systems:
1. How do you get the data you do have digitized and into the hands of field crews to verify?
The goal of this research was to develop innovative technologies that allow public water systems to rapidly deploy digitized LSL data into the hands of field crews. Unearth’s OnePlace platform exceeded expectations by meeting all the milestones for the Phase I feasibility demonstration, while also successfully deploying the technology to a public water system for testing and feedback.
Successful Milestones
● Data processing pipeline construction, capable of ingesting raw LSL data from municipalities into Unearth
● Processing of LSL data for three public water systems into Unearth
● Data from community sources to enrich municipal data (school and childcare facilities)
● The map-based visualization of data for three public water systems in Unearth
2. How do you maximize the resources you already have to manage LSL identification and replacement?
While not part of our current research, the issue of how to effectively maximize the limited resources water systems do have is a problem that the Unearth team has begun to evaluate and will be the topic for future research efforts.
Conclusions:
Establishment of standardized LSL data collection methods and standards will be critical to normalize data content and quality across public water systems and accelerate accurate identification, reporting, and replacement of lead service lines. States should communicate additional guidance to establish clear data acceptance and completeness criteria.
In the interim, water systems can get started on their LSL programs by iteratively (1) centralizing what records they do have, (2) verifying the data with inspections and replacements in the field, and (3) using that information to evaluate the quality of existing records. Here, a rapidly deployable geospatial platform - with flexible data architectures to support iteration - can help water systems even as data content and reporting requirements evolve.
Where we go from here:
The Lead and Copper Rule’s inventory and replacement requirements are symptoms of broader changes in our world: customers have higher expectations for service and demand transparency, regulators continue to strengthen water quality standards, and communities recognize the need for increased infrastructure resiliency.
Ultimately, the future of clean water is founded in communities, not LCR compliance.
With everyone connected to the data and digital tools they need, water systems can promote transparency, keep dollars local, equitably prioritize those most at-risk, and enlist their communities’ support in knocking on doors and documenting building materials.
Connected data environments like Unearth’s OnePlace platform can provide the foundation by informing operations and jumpstarting inventories with a robust record of assets and work, while enabling mobile inventory tools, map-based collaboration, and streamlined communication.
Whether it is the Lead and Copper Rule, its Revisions, the upcoming Improvements, or an entirely new piece of regulation - water systems can be sure of two things: (1) collaboration and visibility are key to the future, and (2) water systems require new tools to realize this opportunity.
After the Phase I effort, Unearth is continuing to solicit feedback from our initial deployment of the technology, as well as actively engaging additional public water systems to deploy the technology. Furthermore, Unearth recently established an “Unearthing Lead Community Program,” with the goal of providing equitable access to digital tooling for disadvantaged and underserved communities.
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.