Grantee Research Project Results

2020 Progress Report: Untapping the Crowd: Consumer Detection and Control of Lead in Drinking Water

EPA Grant Number: CR839375
Title: Untapping the Crowd: Consumer Detection and Control of Lead in Drinking Water
Investigators: Edwards, Marc , Berglund, Emily , Pieper, Kelsey , Katner, Adrienne , Cooper, Caren
Current Investigators: Edwards, Marc , Berglund, Emily , Pieper, Kelsey , Katner, Adrienne , Cooper, Caren , Roy, Siddhartha , Kriss, Rebecca , Scherer, Michelle
Institution: Virginia Tech , University of Iowa , Louisiana State University , North Carolina State University , Texas A & M University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2021 (Extended to March 31, 2023)
Project Period Covered by this Report: April 1, 2020 through March 31,2021
Project Amount: $1,981,500
RFA: National Priorities: Transdisciplinary Research into Detecting and Controlling Lead in Drinking Water (2017) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water

Objective:

We are developing a consumer-centric framework to detect and control water lead risks by achieving the following objectives: 1) inventory infrastructure and analytical data, 2) predict risks with quantitative models, 3) evaluate models through citizen science, 4) intervene with site-tailored strategies to avoid water lead exposure, and 5) scale deliverables to a national level.

Progress Summary:

Between February and September 2019, Virginia Tech and the UNC Institute for the Environment partnered with North Carolina local and state governments to provide free well water testing to private well users. A total of 1148 well water samples were analyzed. The goal was to measure lead in drinking water from private wells, where well users are solely responsible for detecting and controlling water lead risks, while examining well water quality and recovery after Hurricanes Florence and Michael using emergency funds from the National Science Foundation.

Well Water Testing in New York
Increasing chloride concentrations in community water supplies across the United States have damaged premise plumbing, triggered sudden water lead contamination events, and even exceeded aesthetic standards for chloride. In the Northeast and Midwest, this rise in chloride levels has been attributed to an increased use of road salt, but rising chloride might also come from other sources including saltwater intrusion, hydrofracking, and water softener brine. To identify appropriate mitigation and management strategies, a method to identify the source of chloride in drinking water is needed. Studies have applied fingerprinting techniques to trace chloride to road salt in surface waters and groundwaters, but these techniques have not yet been applied to drinking water systems. The objectives of this study are to: 1) summarize fingerprinting techniques to identify chloride sourced from road salt, 2) apply these techniques to determine whether they work in drinking water supplied by private wells, 3) compare these results to an analysis of spatial and temporal chloride trends, and 4) examine the relationship between chloride and the metals in drinking water infrastructure that are vulnerable to corrosion.

Municipal System Testing
In June 2018, our team conducted sequential sampling in Berwyn (3 single-family homes) and Cicero homes (3 single-family homes and 1 church) alongside the environmental justice organization Ixchel. We collected several liters of water per house after a 6+ hour stagnation period. Specifically, we collected 10 1-L samples at low flow rate (~2L/min) and 10 1-L samples at full flow rate. When possible, we also ascertained the service line material type with permission from the homeowner. The sampling showed all but one Berwyn home with persistently high levels of lead above 15 ppb over several minutes, and most of the lead was particulate. The highest lead detected was 141 ppb. In August 2018, we conducted a citywide sampling using the Flint 3-bottle protocol (first draw, “45-second flush” second draw and “2-min flush” third draw). We sampled 83 homes and 2 churches, with 25 Berwyn homes and 51 Cicero homes. The 90th percentile first draw lead for Berwyn and Cicero were 10.2 ppb and 12.4 ppb respectively. The 90th percentile second draw lead was relatively the same in Berwyn (11.1 ppb) but increased slightly in Cicero (15.5 ppb). According to Illinois EPA, 85% of Berwyn homes and 98% of Cicero homes have lead service lines.

In August 2019 we conducted a sampling campaign in Chicago was performed, also using the Flint 3-bottle protocol. We sampled 194 homes and found that the 90th percentile first draw lead was 8.7 ppb, less than in Cicero and Berwyn. However, the 90th percentile second draw sample was higher at 10.4 ppb and the highest lead level observed was 961.3, the highest in all the Chicago area homes that were tested. These results indicate that Chicago may be meeting the LCR, but results are nonetheless concerning because of the sustained 90th percentile lead levels, even after flushing. This is consistent with prior research of EPA Region V.

Louisiana Citizen Science Datasets
Citizen science datasets in Louisiana were generated in collaboration with community partners. These included data on water lead levels, lead service line indicates (age of installation), water quality, and survey data such as water use, treat use and risk perceptions. This data, in addition to utility-based data on corrosion control treatment use, is being incorporated into the BBN models.

Massachusetts Lead in School Drinking Water
Data from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality detailing lead in schools will be analyzed to determine whether the proposed 5-sample technique, outlined in the LCR, is adequate for characterizing lead in school drinking water. This work is expected to result in one journal article that is in progress.

Citizen Science Sampling in Texas
Citizen science sampling will be carried out in Texas to determine lead in well water in border colonial settlements in Texas. Sampling will be carried out in summer to fall of 2021

Website Development
A website (http://crowdthetap.org/ or https://scistarter.org/form/crowd-the-tap) was developed where citizen scientists can input data about their tap water pipes, connect with resources about finding their pipes, and communicate in a forum. We have developed instructions and protocols for Crowd the Tap so that volunteer can crowdsource information on lead bearing plumbing and perceptions of water quality.

Citizen Science Kit Development
Crowd the Tap pipe identification kits were created, which contain postcards that have descriptions of where to find tap water pipes along with materials used to test tap water pipes (i.e. penny and magnet). These kits will be used by citizen scientists to find and test their tap water pipes, and then report the results to an online website and database. An estimated 200 pipe identification kits were distributed to Citizen Science Festival visitors.

Biosolids Monitoring
In 2019, we conducted the first research that used biosolids monitoring to retroactively evaluate levels of lead in Flint water before, during and after the water crisis (Roy et al., 2019). We have continued that work and published a new paper tracking lead in Flint potable water during the recovery and replacement of lead service lines (Roy et al. 2020). Due to our success in using this approach we are trying to expand this analysis to analyze trends in Providence, RI; University Park, IL; Chicago; IL and Toronto, Canada to further evaluate this method. We will be preparing a draft paper on this in Fall 2021.

Background on Methodology: Bayesian Belief Network and Ensemble of Decision Trees
The Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) is at the core of our machine learning analytics. It is a probabilistic directed acyclic graphical model, which represents the dependencies among the subset of attributes via directed arcs. A joint probability table is associated with each arc to explain the probabilistic relationship of the connected attributes. A BBN model is constructed from two components: 1) Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), which is the structure of BBN and shows the topology of network, and 2) Conditional Probability Table (CPT), which is the parameter set of a BBN and is learned from a specific DAG. In this research, we seek a BBN model that fits water quality data to classify positive lead samples with the highest accuracy.

During Year 3 we expanded the development of the BBN to use a total of approximately 8000 water samples that were collected by the VAHWQP between 2012 and 2017. We applied the BBN and EDT methods to develop household-level citizen risk models for the dataset. We explored predictors, including low-resolution water quality data, survey responses, and household characteristics. We demonstrated that low resolution water quality data is valuable to improve predictability of BBN models and EDT models, when no other water quality data is available. We found that the EDT approach generates models with lower error than the BBN approach. As an outcome of this work, we developed a model that has been implemented on the website for further validation and testing. We are preparing a manuscript describing this work, which will be submitted in June 2021.

GIS-Enabled BBN Community Model

During Year 3, we explored methods for extending the BBN and EDT models for municipal systems to develop community models. The Household-level Citizen Risk Model has been developed using data from private systems (primarily wells), and we worked with collaborators to expand the Crowd the Tap platform to collect low-resolution water quality data through at-home water quality testing. We developed protocols for receiving photographs of at-home water quality test results (similar to pH strips) and developed pattern recognition approaches to read photographs and report values for water quality parameters.

O3.1: Evaluate low-cost citizen science lead in water testing technologies
The utility and accuracy of off-the-shelf lead in water test kits as screening tools for lead in water was evaluated at the laboratory scale. Specifically, we investigated if these test kits can (1) detect high soluble lead in water, (2) accurately measure 15 ppb soluble lead in water, (3) detect particulate lead in water, and (4) were subject to other artifacts from co-contaminants such as iron.

Evaluate low-cost citizen science tests for copper in water and copper reduction strategies

In order to help address potential copper problems, we are first seeking to determine the boundary between which water chemistries are aggressive to copper and which are not based on a variety of water quality criteria including pH, alkalinity, orthophosphate dose, natural organic matter concentration, and sulfate concentration. These criteria can then be used in the development of guidance for both utilities and residents for copper detection and mitigation. At-home test kit results for copper and water quality parameters such as pH and alkalinity could potentially serve as inputs to a residential framework to help residents detect the copper and determine potential effective mitigation strategies.

O4.1: Evaluate environmental interventions
Environmental interventions are being evaluated through reviews of the literature, technical documents, and case studies. Interventions are assessed in terms of WLL reduction; short- and long-term costs and sustainability; barriers and impediments to adoption and use; conditions under which interventions are expected to be effective and ineffective; limitations and strengths; and short- and long-term expected environmental impacts and consequences. Interventions evaluated includes: 1) low-cost point of use systems (POU); 2) corrosion control treatment (including those in homes such as limestone contactors); 3) flushing; 4) full and partial service line replacements; and 5) provision of other water sources like bottled water and water buffalos.

O4.2: Evaluate educational interventions
A project-based educational curriculum for elementary and grade schools, which was developed through a grant from the US EPA Environmental Education Program, is currently being evaluated and updated with funds from this US EPA grant. In order to accomplish this, toolkits and strategies were developed and refined for communities to initiate citizen science efforts, to help those with the desire but who lack resources and implementation knowledge. To date this curriculum has been tested in two inner-city high schools, an inner-city summer program, and an inner-city elementary school. Curriculum feedback has been obtained from teachers and students from each school and results and the lesson plans revised. These lesson plans, which include project-based and multi-disciplinary exercises focused on addressing lead in drinking water issues, are available online at: https://sph.lsuhsc.edu/research/programs/lead-study/educational-products/.

Municipal Systems
We have already developed a sampling kit, sampling instructions, and participant notification materials for conveying results and risk to participants to be used in Iowa sampling in the project beta testing. In October 2019 during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week we ran a drinking water “Get the Lead Out” campaign in Iowa that has tested over 250 drinking water samples in Iowa. This work was funded in part through cost-sharing funds and through other related projects with other funding sources. This work continue in 2020 year, incorporating more communities field testing of at-home lead in water test kits and testing of the community model. This work will continue into the next year as well.

Future Activities:

Objective 1.1: Collect and review existing data and literature
We have learned the that LSLR Collaborative is currently conducting a review of all service line data sources. We have worked with them to try and make our products complementary to our data generated from citizen monitoring. Other data sources such as USGS groundwater data are being evaluated for integration in the BBN as well as better characterizing corrosion in small systems with limit treatment.

Objective 1.2: Collect data from communities
Further data analysis and manuscript preparation is underway for well water sampling from North Carolina Communities. Three manuscripts are in preparation and are expected to be completed by summer of 2021. Additional data will also be collected in the Orleans, NY sampling effort to allow comparison of water quality and usage before and after water line extension. Two journal articles are in progress related to this work. Finally, an additional well water citizen science sampling campaign will be carried out in Texas during the final year of the project.
Objective 1.3: Collect crowdsourced knowledge of lead in water levels, lead bearing plumbing, patterns of water use and treatment systems, and perceptions of water quality. This sampling will continue into the current year. Further water testing efforts to build up the predictive risk model may be performed.

During the final year of the grant, we plan to field test the most promising at-home lead in water test kit with the lemon juice addition protocol. This will be tested in 30 high school classes in cities with concerns about lead in drinking water. The goal is for 960 students to complete Crowd the Tap data entry about pipe materials for their households, and test water with the 14-1 chemistry strips and lemon juice/at-home test strip protocols. About 1/3 of these students will also complete the 3-bottle sampling protocol and send them for lab analysis. To support the teachers, we are expanding the Crowd the Tap curriculum and an outreach coordinator will train teachers.

Objectives 2.1-2.3 Develop Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) model of household-level citizen risk; expand BBN to GIS-enabled BBN model; and conduct scenario analysis
Future activities will explore the BBN and EDT approaches with application for new datasets, including additional data from private wells collected in Virginia and North Carolina and data from municipal systems, including New Orleans, LA and Flint, MI. Model capabilities will be explored relative to private and municipal systems. We will also examine alternative sets of predictor variables, or attributes, and how they affect the classification of risk of lead. We will explore how models perform for survey data alone and for increasing levels of information provided through pH, hardness, and commonly available water quality parameters. Models applied for municipal systems will be further extended to predict community levels of lead exposure. In Year #4, we plan to focus efforts on completing publications around the household-level risk model and to further develop the community-level risk model for municipal systems using data collected through Crowd the Tap.

Objective 2.4: Develop a scalable information technology (IT) platform
Website content will include BBN integration into a results and interpretation page and a portal to access outreach materials. Work to develop a database to house water measurement data, and construction of the back-end and front-end of model interface are in progress and ongoing. In Summer 2021, the BBN testing and website evaluation will begin. Website editing to respond to comments is expected to be completed by the end of Spring 2022. The public version of the website with incorporation of the BBN model functionality and citizen-centric content and functionality, is expected to be ready for public Beta-testing by the Spring of 2022.

Objective 3.1: Evaluate low-cost citizen science lead in water testing technologies
Field testing of the top at-home kit using at-home acid treatment is being carried out to determine usability considerations This testing will be carried out across the state of Iowa and in a community in Pennsylvania This testing will use surveys to determine user comfort using test kits. Researchers are testing samples with test kits in the laboratory, allowing for comparison of field and laboratory results. Residents will also test lead samples to ensure testing of some high lead samples.

Laboratory and field testing of at-home test kits for copper and other water quality parameters will also be carried out during the final year of the project. This testing will be in conjunction with field and laboratory test methods for cuprosolvency and testing of resident-level interventions to mitigate copper problems. This work will be used to help develop resident level guidance for copper detection and mitigation using inputs of at-home test kit data. Due to correlations between lead and copper arising from brass as well as synergies between at-home test kit testing, it is hoped that these results may have helpful implications for detecting and mitigating lead in drinking water as well.

Objective 3.2: Utilize testing technologies to evaluate BBN models
Validation of the BBN model with field data will begin once the internal testing of BBN model with the partners’ existing database is completed. After the household-level citizen risk model has been constructed, we will recruit participants to test the model by entering their relevant data and information, running the model, and documenting their risk output. Volunteers will also be asked to provide feedback on the user interface, resources provided on the website, risk messaging, ease of data input, and model runs, and to identify how the system can be made into a more valuable resource for impacted communities. This information will be used to improve the user interface and content. The evaluation and validation of the BBN model as well as obtaining consumer feedback to improve the model and user interface has been delayed due to their dependency on the final BBM model and user interface. Model development and website feedback is an iterative process which has already commenced and for which we continue to get feedback on as the site develops. Greater emphasis will be placed on website feedback as other states and communities are pulled into the project and as the site expands. Instead, more emphasis has been placed on gathering information and data on consumer barriers, educational needs and developing a citizen-centric toolkit to empower and inform communities. This process will result in four journal articles as well as outreach materials.

Objective 5.1: Beta test work products (frameworks and models) in other states
Community partners in Iowa and Texas will apply our framework and work products, recruiting consumers to participate in crowdsourced inventories, water testing, and use of the model, providing a feedback loop to those efforts. It will also identify barriers to community outreach, motivation, and product dissemination when the methods are applied beyond those involved on the core research team.

Objective 5.2: Engage with stakeholders in order to enhance the capabilities of the consumer-centric framework.
LSUHSC will conduct key stakeholder interviews with public advocates involved in the water struggle of St. Joseph, LA and Enterprise, LA to document the challenges, barriers, and needs of the community during their struggle to get their voices heard and their water problems addressed. A One-day workshop to facilitate dialogue on strategies, motivations, and barriers to establishing a community science sampling campaign will be held, pending website review and intervention publications and materials. A paper presenting the results of this workshop and end of grant findings will be drafted. The results from the Extension well water workshop will also be developed into a white paper and a follow-up workshop will be held to evaluate progress toward individual and group goals.

Journal Articles on this Report : 4 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views

Other project views:	All 56 publications	13 publications in selected types	All 13 journal articles

Publications

Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Roy S, Mosteller K, Mosteller M, Webber K, Webber V, Webber S, Reid L, Walter L, Edwards MA. Citizen science chlorine surveillance during the Flint, Michigan federal water emergency. Water Research 2021:117304	CR839375 (2018) CR839375 (2020) CR839375 (2021)	Abstract from PubMed Full-text: Science Direct - Full Text HTML Exit Abstract: VTechWorks - Abstract HTML Exit
Journal Article	Roy S, Tang M, Edwards MA. Lead release to potable water during the Flint, Michigan water crisis as revealed by routine biosolids monitoring data. Water research 2019;160:475-83.	CR839375 (2019) CR839375 (2020) CR839375 (2021)	Full-text: Full-Text Exit Abstract: Abstract Exit
Journal Article	Roy S, Edwards MA. Preventing another lead (Pb) in drinking water crisis:Lessons from the Washington DC and Flint MI contamination events. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2019;7:34-44.	CR839375 (2019) CR839375 (2020) CR839375 (2021)	Abstract: Abstract Exit
Journal Article	Pieper KJ, Katner A, Kriss R, Tang M, Edwards MA. Understanding lead in water and avoidance strategies:a United States perspective for informed decision-making. Journal of water and health 2019;17(4):540-55.	CR839375 (2019) CR839375 (2020) CR839375 (2021)	Full-text: Full-Text Exit Abstract: Abstract Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

Lead, drinking water, corrosion, citizen science, environmental justice

Relevant Websites:

Educational curriculum for grade schools Exit

Citizen Science website Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2018 Progress Report

2019 Progress Report

2021 Progress Report

Final Report