Detroit Evening Report: Detroit to replace thousands of lead service lines by year’s end
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Detroit Water and Sewerage Department employees began lead service line replacements in Detroit's Pingree Park neighborhood this week.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is still on schedule to replace thousands of lead service lines by the end of the year.
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DWSD is using an artificial intelligence learning tool from BlueConduit that predicts the location of lead service lines in the city.
The department was in Pingree Park this week — a neighborhood the tool predicts has at least 70 lead lines.
Director Gary Brown says the software helps them choose which areas they should hit first to make the most impact.
“This is a neighborhood with a lot of kids. It’s a a disadvantaged community,” Brown said. “Economically, it has been ignored for a long time. So this is why we’re here and not in Rosedale Park or Palmer Woods or Sherwood Forest.”
The department is on track to replace 10,000 lines by the end of 2024.
Other headlines for Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024:
- Dearborn’s Public Health Department is working with the University of Michigan’s Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic to review the city’s environmental policies.
- Detroit Homeowners have until Nov. 1 to apply for property tax assistance to avoid risk of foreclosure. The 2024 HOPE application deadline was moved from early December to November to give the city of Detroit Property Assessment Board time to reach applicants with incomplete submissions so they can ensure they have a fair chance at receiving the benefit. The last Healthy Home Resource Fair where residents can receive on-site HOPE application assistance is 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Perfecting Church on Detroit’s east side.
- Daybreaker and Civic Responsibility Project are hosting a dance party in New Center Park this Saturday to “get out the vote” this election season. Called the “Purple Tour,” the event will feature special guests Wanda Sykes, NFL star Tyrann Mathieu, Anthony Ramos, Dancing with the Stars Julianna Hough and more.
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