Jenny Arkle, Program Manager of the college's Upper Mississippi Center for Sustainable Communities, says 14 students spent the past year going through old records, trying to figure out how many homes might have lead lines.
"And based on the age of the home, we could estimate that about 44 per cent have a fairly high likelihood of having a lead service line."
Rock Island has 14,000 homes, and those in the 1st, 5th, and 6th wards, along the Mississippi River, have the highest likelihood.
Kimberly Murphy, Director of the Center for Advancement Community Health and Wellness, says helping the city gives the Augustana students some real world experience.
"This was a perfect opportunity for us to reach out and find out that there was a true need in the community, right here literally in our own backyard. And get our students involved in a very meaningful way in which they're seeing the product of their work."
The students will pass out flyers at churches and block parties, and ask homeowners to check their water service lines. And that'll help Rock Island meet next year's deadline to submit an inventory to the state, and with some possible ways to pay for replacement lines.