Benton Harbor, Mich., needs to exhume thousands of corroded lines, and a machine learning algorithm is helping to figure out where to dig first.
“You can’t drink the water. You can’t brush your teeth with the water. You can’t cook with the water.... You can’t make baby formula with the water,” says Reverend Edward Pinkney, president of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council.because it contains potentially toxic amounts of lead. Citizens must rely on bottled water for their daily needs.
Residents of Benton Harbor complained for years about the safety of the water, but few actions were taken. In September 2021 the Benton Harbor Community Water Council and others to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calling for it to secure a source of safe drinking water for the community. The petition also calls for the replacement of the lead service lines running into the city’s homes., a company based in Ann Arbor, Mich., that has developed an algorithm to help communities locate their lead service lines.
“We're in a situation in Benton Harbor where there is a public health emergency. And so each additional day that residents are living with the risk of having a lead service line is increasing their risk of exposure to lead,” says Ian Robinson, BlueConduit’s president.