Lead Reduction Updates and LSL Identification and Replacement Webinar

• December 3, 2024, 1:00-4:00 p.m. ET
• The recording will be posted within two weeks of the webinar.
• Small Drinking Water Systems Webinar Series

About the Webinar

This extended webinar includes talks from the 21st Annual EPA Drinking Water Workshop held in September 2024. Presentation summaries and speaker bios are provided below.

1. EPA Lead Reduction in Drinking Water Updates

This presentation will include an overview of EPA’s multipronged approach to reducing lead in drinking water according to the 2021 Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan, including regulations and other programs we have. For the retained elements of the 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), this presentation will summarize guidance and tools available to assist systems and states to meet these requirements. Lastly, this presentation will provide an overview of the 2023 Final Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).

Kira Smith, EPA Office of Water. Kira is an environmental engineer in EPA’s Office of Water, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. She leads teams that implement the Federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), as well as activities associated with the EPA Lead Strategy to reduce lead exposure to lead from drinking water. She also acts as an advisor and subject matter expert for all things lead in the Capacity and Compliance Assistance Division. Kira has 25 years of experience in the drinking water industry and previously worked for EPA on the 2007 LCR short-term revisions. In addition to EPA, she has worked for very small to very large utilities, and as an engineering consultant for various projects in and around Tampa, Florida. Kira holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of California, Berkeley; a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Union College in Upstate New York; and is a registered professional engineer in Texas and Virginia.

2. Assistance Project on Lead Service Line Identification (LSLID)

In direct support of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Emerging Contaminants funding authorized by Congress through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, P.L. 117-58, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA researchers will be providing small and/or disadvantaged communities with the technical support for identifying lead service lines. This presentation will discuss current ORD efforts, latest findings, and opportunities for collaboration on LSLID.

Simoni Triantafyllidou, EPA Office of Research and Development. Simoni is an environmental engineer with EPA's Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Water Infrastructure Division. Her research and technical support efforts revolve around aquatic chemistry, drinking water quality/treatment, corrosion science, inorganic contaminants and sustainable drinking water infrastructure (premise plumbing/distribution systems).

3. New and Emerging Technologies for LSLID

Emerging technologies have the potential to enhance the ability of drinking water systems to accurately identify the composition of service lines and reduce associated costs. The search for non-invasive methods such as those based on electrical resistance, acoustic and stress wave propagation/attenuation, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) methods are now being evaluated to determine the composition of buried service line pipes without digging. These approaches are relatively new to the drinking water field and are still being satisfactorily demonstrated and optimized for use to identify service line composition. Advanced imaging techniques, including x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) may offer more potential with precise identification of materials such as lead, copper, and plastic in service lines. These innovative technologies have the potential to transform service line identification. As these technologies improve and become more readily available, State regulators should consider implementing standards for use. The objective of this presentation is to review new methods for identifying service line materials. Additionally, an update on the development of a reference guide for approving emerging service line material identification being developed by a state regulator workgroup will be shared.

Jennifer Murray, Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation. Jennifer is an environmental scientist with the Division of Water Resources, Drinking Water Compliance Division with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. She joined TDEC in 2023 and provides support and guidance to water systems with their Lead Service Line Inventory. Jennifer’s educational background is in applied sciences, specifically in entomology. She has worked for many years in public health as an epidemiologist, evaluator and data analyst in cancer surveillance and chronic disease.

4. Predictive Modeling for LSLID Using Machine Learning Tools

Water systems face an assorted array of technologies and approaches promising to facilitate the cost-effective identification and remediation of legacy lead service lines that are still present in water systems across the country. Predictive modeling using geostatistical, machine learning, and artificial intelligence approaches more broadly are one category of tools that are being proposed and implemented to fulfill the Revised Lead and Copper Rule mandated service line inventory and for guiding remediation in a more targeted and cost-effective fashion. This presentation will provide an unbiased and scientifically-based responses to common questions that often arise when utilizing these approaches, including the following: 1) How much data are needed to develop and validate these models?, 2) What types of data are needed to develop these models?, 3) How do I obtain the data needed to develop and validate these models?, 4) How do I assess the performance of these models in identifying lead service lines?, 5) What is the true cost of setting up these models compared to other lead identifications approaches?, and 6) How can these models can be leveraged in practice to guide the remediation process?

Brian Dyson, EPA Office of Research and Development. Brian is the supervisor of the Environmental Decision Analytics Branch in EPA’s Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Land Remediation and Technology Division. He supervises researchers working on environmental decision and data analytics and coordinates drinking water infrastructure resilience research for small communities. His past research spans simulation-optimization methods for environmental systems engineering and multi-criteria decision analysis applied to flood resilience planning, contaminated site remediation, sustainable materials management, wetland restoration, and watershed management.

Caleb Buahin, EPA Office of Research and Development. Caleb is a research civil engineer in EPA’s Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Water Infrastructure Division. His research involves developing and applying hybrid physics/process-based and artificial intelligence/machine learning methods with sensor data towards smart/intelligent design and management of water systems. Caleb's research traverses the intersection between large river-reservoir/lake systems to stormwater and wastewater systems and is addressing issues, including urbanization and climate impacts on water supply, ecosystems services, flooding, combined sewer overflows, and flooding. He also manages EPA’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM).

5. Water Sampling for LSLID

Water sampling can be a relatively simple and cost-effective approach to identify lead service lines (LSLs) compared to other existing methods. This presentation will outline established drinking water sampling methods including sequential profile sampling, first draw sampling, flushed sampling, random daytime sampling, manual composite sampling, and passive (POU device) sampling, that could be used to identify LSLs within a water system depending on their corrosion control and water chemistry. This presentation will also discuss how sampling approaches can provide information on the impact of other LSL identification methods on water quality, particularly when a disturbance occurs.

Christina Devine, EPA Office of Research and Development. Christina is an engineer with EPA's Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Water Infrastructure Division where she is conducting research on lead in drinking water with a current focus on lead service line identification. Her research interests include drinking water quality/treatment, aquatic chemistry, corrosion science, sustainable drinking water infrastructure, and public health. Christina is the chair of the American Water Works Association Premise Plumbing: Beyond the Meter Committee.