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Removing Michigan’s Lead Water Service Lines: Economic Savings, Health Benefits, And Improved Health Equity
Lead Service Line Replacement, Lead and Copper Rule Analysis, Michigan Water Policy, Policy Organizations libby cole Lead Service Line Replacement, Lead and Copper Rule Analysis, Michigan Water Policy, Policy Organizations libby cole

Removing Michigan’s Lead Water Service Lines: Economic Savings, Health Benefits, And Improved Health Equity

"Removing Michigan’s Lead Water Service Lines: Economic Savings, Health Benefits, And Improved Health Equity” published in Health Affairs, August 2023 

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Lessons Learned from a Water Leak Pilot Program: Recommendations for Improving Local and State Agency Collaborations with Community Groups and Residents
Michigan Water Policy, Community Support, Household Plumbing libby cole Michigan Water Policy, Community Support, Household Plumbing libby cole

Lessons Learned from a Water Leak Pilot Program: Recommendations for Improving Local and State Agency Collaborations with Community Groups and Residents

The Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan and Safe Water Engineering, LLC recently conducted a program evaluation of a water leak repair pilot program initiated by the State of Michigan to repair leaks in individual homes in Highland Park and Benton Harbor, Michigan.  

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AWWA Standard Available to Assist Communities in Lead Service Line Removal
Michigan Water Policy, Lead Service Line Replacement libby cole Michigan Water Policy, Lead Service Line Replacement libby cole

AWWA Standard Available to Assist Communities in Lead Service Line Removal

Water utilities across Michigan are ramping up lead service line replacement work this year to comply with the Michigan Lead and Copper Rule requirement to begin replacing lead service lines at an average of 5% per year starting in 2021.

The American Water Works Association prepared a standard for replacing and flushing lead service lines to identify best practices and guide water utilities through the process.


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Lessons from the first year of compliance sampling under Michigan's revised Lead and Copper Rule and national Lead and Copper Rule implications
Michigan Water Policy, Lead and Copper Rule Analysis libby cole Michigan Water Policy, Lead and Copper Rule Analysis libby cole

Lessons from the first year of compliance sampling under Michigan's revised Lead and Copper Rule and national Lead and Copper Rule implications

Michigan revised its Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) in 2018 to include a new sampling protocol intended to better measure the amount of lead in water from lead service lines. Water utilities completed their first round of sampling using this new protocol in 2019. To help determine the impact of new sampling protocols, my team and I conducted an analysis of the first year of sampling results which was recently published in an open access article in the journal Water Science.

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