It's a new initiative designed to help identify and eliminate lead service pipes in City of Buffalo homes.
Buffalo Water has announced the release of its first public-facing resident online platform called Get Water Wise Buffalo.
"We believe we have around 40,000 lead service lines throughout the City of Buffalo," said Oluwole "OJ" McFoy, Buffalo Water Board Chair. "One of the top things for us in lead, is the age of the homes. We understand that lead has been a huge problem in Buffalo as it relates to paint, and what we don't want to have happen, we don't want that to have influence as it relates to water."
So to address the issue this new platform centers around an interactive map that will help inform homeowners of potential lead service lines in their neighborhoods while assisting Buffalo Water through an online survey.
"It's a very positive step forward," said Franchelle Parker, Executive Director of Open Buffalo, "Buffalo is an old city. We have an aging infrastructure here, and the impact today is that we are faced with tremendous environmental challenges in our community. It's our kids paying the price for that."
Parker believes that public participation in this new program will be critical.
"We need to get this into the hands of our residents specifically on the East Side where we are located," said Parker, who added, "Right now we have an opportunity for homeowners and renters to have lead lines replaced free of charge."
"This is a big problem," said McFoy, "We understand its effect on small children, we understand its effects on our elderly, so we want to make sure we are addressing this problem head-on."
Last month the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that requires lead service lines across the country to be replaced within 10 years.
Buffalo Water says that as of November 30th, 2,000 lead service lines throughout the City of Buffalo have already been replaced as part of a capital improvement project.
McFoy says a "huge job" remains with more than 30,000 service lines still unknown in the city. McFoy believes this new initiative will help Buffalo Water continue to be proactive in addressing the issue.
