Instructor Hopes Students Can Help Solve Lead Pipe Issue

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee instructor hopes his students can help find a solution for Milwaukee’s lead water pipes.

William Kort told WUWM-FM (http://bit.ly/2iWxiAX ) he put together a course on the topic after speaking to the Center for Water Policy.

Approximately 70,000 lead service lines need to be replaced in Milwaukee. Lead is a heavy metal neurotoxin that causes health problems to people exposed to it, specifically in children.

“We’re going to bring academic resources to bear on real world problems so this is great opportunity for students to get experience in both aspects of the problem and really have a chance to influence real world policy makers,” Kort said.

He said the class will have an applied research policy approach and that students will get to explore the decentralization of the public water supply.

“I think it’s going to become more common in the future for us to be supplying not quite potable water and we are going to be finishing that water at the point of use for whatever purpose we need it for,” Kort said. “We don’t need potable water to water the plants or water the lawn for example, and it’s very expensive for us to treat all of our water to that highest drinking water standard.”

Kort said he believes Milwaukee can become a water policy model, and he hopes his class can help achieve that goal.

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