Peyton Heisch, the Sustainability Manager at the Upper Mississippi Center and the Center for the Advancement of Community Health and Wellness, and Adriana Reyes, a senior at Augustana College and GSI analyst at the Upper Mississippi Center, spent Thursday afternoon knocking on doors.
Reyes says they sent out postcards and surveys before their canvassing date in early June. She says that helped with their data collection last week as most residents were aware of the project.
"When we were doing Rock Island canvassing, we realized if we're quick and easy, straight to the point, they're more willing to listen and engage with what we're asking," Reyes said in an in-person interview on June 14.
She says students offered resources to residents unaware of their pipe materials.
"I helped a lot by guiding students on how to do this, as I did all this last summer," Reyes said. "So with the help of professors and Peyton, we were able to get students familiar with the process, so in the end, I think it went really well. It's much smaller than Rock Island, so working with a couple hundred homes wasn't a big deal."
According to Heisch, Port Byron contacted their group after noticing their partnership with Rock Island. Heisch says they found homes with lead pipes, but a final tally is still to come.
The student group will review the data and work with Port Byron to complete an action plan by late July. After a pipe replacement plan is written, Port Byron sends the document to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for state compliance. The village then has twenty years to finish lead pipe replacement lines.
According to Heisch, residents are not left alone in the replacement process.
"I think a lot of cities are trying to help get rid of the cost for community members," Heisch said. "In Rock Island, they are trying to do it all through different funds, such as SRF (state revolving funds), and we already have four million, I believe."
Working with lead pipe data collection, Heisch and Reyes now ask their friends and family about their water lines.
"I didn't know, but one of my homes back in Chicago did have lead, and my dad, before we moved in, replaced it because he understands how harmful it can be to have lead pipes," Reyes said.
