As the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Revision implementation continues to evolve, it’s important that public water systems stay ahead of the curve. That’s why 120Water recently debuted an update to the way its software manages inventories in direct alignment with those EPA recommendations. The Public Water System Portal is designed to allow public water systems to manage their service line inventories in accordance with EPA and state standards, and easily report those inventories annually to their state drinking water regulator.

“The EPA recommends that these inventories be treated as living data sets that are continuously updated throughout the year by the public water systems,” says Megan Glover, co-founder and CEO of 120Water. “These federal requirements present major new responsibilities for utilities in terms of time, manpower and financial resources, so there is a very real need for software tools that can help ease the burden in each step of the process.”

Under the LCRR, utilities are required to compile a location-based inventory of service line materials by October 2024. However, according to Glover, a 2021 survey conducted by the company found that only 36% of utilities have records that will help them inventory their service lines, and only 25% said these records are available digitally in a central database.

To streamline and simplify the translation between inventory data and state reporting requirements, the PWS Portal is configured to each state’s reporting needs. It provides instant data validation to identify gaps in inventory submissions, and can communicate directly with any state agencies, state revolving funds, and other stakeholders who have procured the 120Water State Dashboard. Otherwise, it requires a one-click export to CSV or Excel file for submission to the state primacy agency. The portal also provides year-over-year progress toward identifying the material of unknown service lines.

Comprised of secure cloud-based software services and point-of-use kits, 120Water’s solution provides tailored workflows for complying with lead and water quality programs to protect public health. Working with hundreds of utilities across 38 states, 120Water is in the process of inventorying over 3 million service lines that impact more than 10 million individuals.

“120Water is dedicated to empowering water professionals with tools like this to protect public health and ease the burden of new regulation,” says Glover. 888-317-1510; www.120water.com