120Water to lead New Jersey program

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The city of Newark, New Jersey has selected a Zionsville company to manage its lead service line replacement program. 120Water says it will use its digital water platform to engage residents in helping test water at the tap after the lines are replaced.

The city began its 30-month LSL replacement program last year with the goal of replacing approximately 18,000 lead service lines that deliver drinking water to residents. 

120Water was tapped by the city to manage “The Newark Way of Thinking & Drinking” program to educate residents about the replacement program and increase the rate of return of water testing kits. As part of the LSL replacement program, water at the tap must be certified as lead compliant six months after the lines are replaced.

“Newark’s effort to proactively communicate to residents is a model of what a modern lead service line replacement program should be,” said Megan Glover, chief executive officer of 120Water. “The six-month post replacement sampling validates if the line replacement has effectively removed the lead threat in the drinking water, and is crucial to the success of the program.”

120Water will mail out verification test kits after an LSL is replaced, which will ask residents to fill a bottle and return it. The results will be sent to a state-certified lab to be analyzed. The company’s cloud-based software will track the verification and results along the way.

“Since tap water must be retested after a lead service line is replaced, we must rely on residents and landlords to ensure the testing takes place accurately and on time,” said Tiffany Stewart, assistant director at Newark’s Department of Water. “120Water serves as an extension of our staff to educate residents about the importance of the lead drinking water program, gain their cooperation, and ultimately create better public health.”

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.