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Lead Service Line Replacement: a Geomatic Approach to Integrate Cost and Water Quality and Studying the Relationship Between Them

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Lead Service Line Replacement: a Geomatic Approach to Integrate Cost and Water Quality and Studying the Relationship Between Them LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT: A GEOMATIC APPROACH TO INTEGRATE COST AND WATER QUALITY AND STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM by Shivani Gilhotra Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Sciences at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia December 2019 © Copyright by Shivani Gilhotra, 2019 DEDICATION I dedicate my research work to my family. A special feeling of gratitude to my loving parents, Gulshan and Madhu Gilhotra whose words of encouragement and push for tenacity ring in my ears. My sister Angela has never left my side and is very special. ii Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. vi Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ix Abbreviations and Symbols used ..................................................................................................... x Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project Rationale .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1.1 Guidelines to remove Lead in Drinking Water in Canada ....................................... 3 1.1.2 The USA’s Lead Copper Rule ................................................................................. 4 1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Objectives ......................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Thesis Organization ......................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review ................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Likelihood of the Lead Service lines ............................................................................... 9 2.3 Funding for Lead Service Line Replacements ................................................................. 9 2.4 Record Management and Innovative techniques used to Replace Lead Service Lines . 25 2.5 Case Study: Using online communicative tools to promote replacements –Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Indiana............................................................................................................... 28 2.5.1 Background ............................................................................................................ 29 2.5.2 Building an Inventory ............................................................................................ 31 2.5.3 Challenges and Concerns ....................................................................................... 33 2.6 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER 3: Creating an Effective Lead Service Line Replacement Program ................... 36 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 36 3.2 Data Gathering and Inventory Management .................................................................. 36 3.3 Publishing available data and Customer Engagement ................................................... 38 3.4 Budget and Jurisdictional Challenges ............................................................................ 41 3.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER 4: Cost Estimation Portal- A GIS-based Web Application .................................. 45 4.1 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 45 iii 4.2 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 45 4.2.1 Application Architecture ........................................................................................ 47 4.3 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 48 4.3.1 Study Area ............................................................................................................. 48 4.3.2 Data collection ....................................................................................................... 49 4.3.3 Maps and Views ..................................................................................................... 50 4.4 Workflow ....................................................................................................................... 52 4.5 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 5: Water Quality Improvements after the Service Line Replacements in Halifax, Nova Scotia ................................................................................................................................... 59 5.1 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 59 5.2 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 59 5.3 Methodology and Analysis ............................................................................................ 61 5.3.1 Study Area ............................................................................................................. 61 5.3.2 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 61 5.3.3 Analytical Method and Hypothesis ........................................................................ 62 5.3.4 Analysis.................................................................................................................. 62 5.4 Results and Discussion .................................................................................................. 63 5.4.1 Effects on Replacement Cost ................................................................................. 63 5.4.2 Factors influencing the Private side Replacement Cost ......................................... 64 5.4.3 Post-Replacement Lead Levels .............................................................................. 65 5.4.4 Correlation between Lead Content Reduction and Replacement Cost .................. 66 CHAPTER 6: Conclusions & Recommendations ..................................................................... 70 6.1 Concluding Remarks ...................................................................................................... 70 6.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 72 References ..................................................................................................................................... 74 APPENDIX A – Supporting data for Chapter 4 (Cost Estimation Portal Database) .................... 84 APPENDIX B – Supporting data for Chapter 5 ............................................................................ 85 APPENDIX C – Sampling Instructions given by Halifax Water to the residents ........................ 97 iv List of Tables Table 1 Compiles the information for 35 North American Utilities working to have an effective and efficient lead service line replacement (LSLR) program. The table lists down the cut off year (use of lead in service lines, fixtures, or solders), approximate number of lead service lines (LSLs), financial aid program by the utilities to the homeowners, corrosion control, record management techniques used to reach out the residents, and the average cost predicted for the private side of replacement. .............................................. 11 Table 2: Values used for the Cost Estimation Portal ....................................................... 84 Table 3: Database used to do factor analysis ................................................................... 85 Table 4 The descriptive statistics of the dataset of the residents who got their lead service line replacements in 2016-18 in Halifax, NS .................................................................... 87 Table 5 The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model for the dataset of the residents who got their lead service line replacement in 2016-18 in Halifax, NS ......................................... 87 Table 6: Dataset used for analysis in Chapter 5. (Addresses are not used because of the privacy concerns). The data is obtained from the CWRS lab, Dalhousie University and replacement cost obtained from Halifax Water (Water quality team). ............................. 89 v List
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