Research Project
Drinking water lead remediation strategies for Illinois homes with domestic wells
- Principal Investigator
- Dorevitch, Samuel
- Start Date
- 2020-01-02
- End Date
- 2023-01-02
- Funding Source
- US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Abstract
Lead exposure can cause serious damage to children's developing brains, so identifying elevated lead concentrations and working with homeowners and public health workers to mitigate sources of lead in water is vital. In the initial stage of this project, the Water Survey (with collaborators from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northern Illinois University, and county public health departments) measured lead levels in homes with private wells in rural areas of Peoria, Jackson, and Kane counties, finding that approximately 40% of the sampled homes had measurable lead. Now this collaboration has received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to expand this work, focusing on testing various remediation techniques on homes with measurable lead. This study will include two additional counties, Champaign and Whiteside. The researchers will again work closely with local public health departments.