{"id":11433,"date":"2023-01-03T13:55:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T18:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/?p=11433"},"modified":"2023-01-03T14:08:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T19:08:59","slug":"denver-water-proves-its-lead-reduction-program-is-a-national-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2023\/01\/03\/denver-water-proves-its-lead-reduction-program-is-a-national-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver Water proves its Lead Reduction Program is a national model"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/tom-neltner\"><em>Tom Neltner<\/em><\/a><em>, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals and <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/lindsay-mccormick\"><em>Lindsay McCormick<\/em><\/a><em>, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s New:<\/strong> After an extensive review process, EPA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/epa-finds-denver-waters-lead-reduction-program-effective\">approved<\/a> Denver Water\u2019s request to extend the variance to allow the utility to administer their <a href=\"https:\/\/edforg.sharepoint.com\/sites\/SaferChemicals-Lead\/Shared%20Documents\/Lead\/02%20Blogs\/11.2022%20Denver%20LSLR%20Site%20Visit\/denverwater.org\/your-water\/water-quality\/lead\/lead-service-lines\">Lead Reduction Program<\/a> for the full 15-year term. EPA touts Denver Water\u2019s Lead Reduction Program as an \u201cinnovative and aggressive approach\u201d to lead service line replacement (LSL) in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\/document\/EPA-R08-OW-2019-0404-0043\">letter<\/a> approving the variance.<\/p>\n<p>Denver Water will continue to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>replace all lead service lines at no cost to homeowners,<\/li>\n<li>provide residents with filters to help reduce their exposure in the short-term, and<\/li>\n<li>use an alternative approach to water treatment that still ensures effective corrosion control.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We applaud their emphasis on environmental justice and commitment to ensure that the program continues to prioritize disproportionately impacted neighborhoods \u2013 and EPA\u2019s new requirement to track this progress.<\/p>\n<p>This fall, we visited Denver Water\u2019s field operations to see for ourselves how it is successfully replacing more than 4,500 lines per year. We were impressed by what we saw, and sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2022\/11\/EDF-Comments_Denver-Water-Variance-Extension-Request.pdf\">letter<\/a> to EPA\u2019s Regional Administrator expressing our full support for Denver Water\u2019s March 2022 request to continue their program.<!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11434\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11434\" style=\"width: 303px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2023\/01\/Denver-Water_LSL-Replacement.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11434\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2023\/01\/Denver-Water_LSL-Replacement-242x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"303\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2023\/01\/Denver-Water_LSL-Replacement-242x300.png 242w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2023\/01\/Denver-Water_LSL-Replacement.png 305w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 303px) 100vw, 303px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11434\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crew member connecting new copper line to the water main.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Our Experience:<\/strong> Denver Water\u2019s Lead Reduction Program is as efficient in practice as it is on paper. We watched alongside crews as they investigated the material of service lines, replaced multiple LSLs within a single neighborhood, and detailed their work through documentation.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with crews to learn more about the process, including potholing (a mechanism to verify a service line\u2019s material that also helps avoid costly excavation), directional boring underground to install new copper lines without ripping up sidewalks and yards, connecting the new lines to the water main, and efficient work site cleanup. To increase efficiency, separate crews performed each of these tasks in an assembly-line type approach. Further, it was evident the crews gave careful attention to details. While we were onsite, the crew encountered a complicated situation where a single service line provided water to multiple buildings, and they carefully considered the issues and alternatives.\u00a0 We also learned more about Denver Water\u2019s thoughtful customer coordination process to get consent, schedule replacements, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5t7Ol4tsezU\">educate<\/a> customers throughout the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why It Matters: <\/strong>Hundreds of communities across the country are developing programs to eliminate LSLs and leverage the $15 billion in dedicated funds available from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/dwcapacity\/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-resources-drinking-water\">IIJA<\/a>). Denver Water is one of a handful of comprehensive LSL replacement programs that we can call a national model. Other programs include Flint, Cincinnati, Newark, and Washington, D.C. These programs have demonstrated an ability to safely replace lead pipes, engage with their communities, and adapt to changing needs efficiently.<\/p>\n<p>If your community is in the process of developing an LSL replacement program, Denver Water holds a wealth of experience and is willing to share lessons learned with other communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Go Deeper: <\/strong>Learn more about Denver Water\u2019s Lead Reduction Program at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverwater.org\/your-water\/water-quality\/lead\">DenverWater.org\/lead<\/a>. To read the full variance request, you can download it directly from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\/document\/EPA-R08-OW-2019-0404-0044\">federal docket<\/a>. Also check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2022\/09\/22\/successful-denver-water-lead-reduction-program-seeks-12-year-extension\/\">previous blog<\/a> on the Denver Water variance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals and Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals What\u2019s New: After an extensive review process, EPA approved Denver Water\u2019s request to extend the variance to allow the utility to administer their Lead Reduction Program for the full 15-year term. EPA touts Denver Water\u2019s Lead Reduction Program as an \u201cinnovative and &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114081,114106],"tags":[34892,114024,39158,91754],"coauthors":[114097],"class_list":["post-11433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drinking-water","category-lead","tag-denver","tag-denver-water","tag-lead","tag-lead-in-drinking-water"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11433"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=11433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}