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Extra Notes

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Powderkeg Web design for advice and quick turn around.

Images and data were taken from another medium.  The blurring in highlighting etc. were from the transfer of media, and some lower quality photographs, due to the desire to get the content out as quickly as possible.

Thanks to my neighbors, you have been patient and kind.  I hope this is able to get some help for us.  I’m grateful to serve you in this way.

Thanks to my Mom and Dad.  I miss you every day

John Brandon

Extra Notes

Please, Please, Please

Contact the Federal Government if you can take the time to help us.

Links will be provided.

 

Extra Notes

The amounts vary, and will be in different buckets, depending on what source you read.

This is a huge amount of money the government wants to spend replacing Lead Service Laterals (LSL’s)

USA

9,200,000 LSLs (AI search above) x average of $4,700 (AI search) = $43,240,000,000 (forty three billion, two hundred forty million dollars).  The 9,200,000 number seems to  include Galvanized Steel lines that are downstream of any lead lines.

2,800,000 Galvanized steel lines (AI search above) x average of $4,700 = $13,160,000,000 (thirteen billion, one hundred and sixty million dollars)

Total, 56,400,000,000 Fifty six billion, four hundred million dollars

Subsequent slides will concentrate on chronology of events, poor Science, and incorrect interpretation of data.

In Madison Wisconsin, We had 9,000 lead lines, depending on source information.  My quote was low, $3,500 (to replace a galvanized steel line, Evansville, WI).  Many pay in the mid $5,000’s to excavate/replace plumbing.

9,000 x $3,500 = $31,500,000 (thirty one million dollars).  Many/Most sources say the work in Madison was complete in 2011.

Madison offered it’s people up to ½ of $3,000 ($1,500 max), in subsidy for private installation, which means that the minimum that people had to shell out of their pockets, in addition to paying additional taxes, would be $2,000.  Most people would pay considerably more.

IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THESE WERE EXTRA TAXES FOR WATER SUPPLIES ON TOP OF EXTRA TAXES FOR SIDEWALKS, ON TOP OF ALL OTHER TAXES

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WNDR) changed the formula for awarding grants in 2024, thus the people of my street received NOTHING in subsidy

Extra Notes

For over 30 years the Federal Environmental Protection agency (EPA) and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WNDR) have been crying LEAD.

Their strategy for Lead reduction is fundamentally flawed. They have pushed plumbing replacement and infrastructure replacement, at a huge cost, when there are inexpensive and effective solutions available.

Extra Notes

Pasted timeline, source upper left
Red arrows mine, with box descriptions
Note that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandates that WATER SYSTEMS replace lead laterals, not the END USER

Extra Notes

In this diagram are talking points for lead in drinking water.  It illustrates nicely that corroborating  evidence for the IDIOCY of replacing Lead water lateral supplies (LSL, Lateral, etc.) as mandated by the Wisconsin State Government/Department of Natural Resources (WNDR), and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

  1. Lead hierarchy – Exposure to lead based paint in homes and lead in the soil are by far the most likely avenue for exposure in the USA.  Additionally, lead in the soil/paint is predominantly ionic/oxidized (bad form).  The World Health Organization (WHO), The Minnesota dep’t of health, and EPA all agree that drinking water is a low level exposure hazard compared to soil and lead based paint
    Sources: World, Federal, State
    https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/lead/fs/common.html
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health
    EPA in slides later
  2. LSL replacement not mandatory in the BIL – The Bipartisan Infrastructure law CLEARLY says WATER SYSTEMS must replace the laterals, not the end user/customer.  As well, this is a 10 year plan.
  3. EPA 50/75% reduction of Lead upon LSL replacement (Lateral replacement NOT effective in Lead elimination) – The EPA and other agencies often mention this, but don’t post data for it.  Strange.  We’ll go over some data in the scientific writing, for the ever-popular nerd-fest.
  4. Lead properties Pb/Ca.  Pb is the atomic symbol for Lead (think Plumbing).  Ca is Calcium (well, at least that one makes sense).  There’s a couple of slides on this later.  Lead and Calcium are similar, thus the medical/developmental issue.
  5. Intentionally deceptive science – lots of slides on this.  We were lied to regarding the danger of lead in drinking water in several respects.
  6. UW hygiene lab – I’ve talked with the University of Wisconsin state Hygiene lab many times.  These people are heros.  They do good work, and they tell the truth.  They are scorchingly fast as well.  The truth is, the “optimized” value of lead concentration (5ug/L, or 5 ppb) that the EPA pulled out of their heinie’s, is very close to zero.  The greatest sensitivity in testing they use (Graphite Furnace atomic adsorption) lights up down to 0.63 ppb or ug/L.  The UW frequently tests well water that have lead present.  Oddly, I will show later, that the EPA curiously omits this data from their “scientific studies”.
  7. Public Services Commission  Big shout out Hallelujah for the PSC.  I’ll explain this in a couple of slides later.  This organization is full of people that are knowledgeable and committed to customer care. They are the only ones in the State of Wisconsin Government who listened to the concerns of my neighbors who were threatened by the City of Evansville WI, and the State Department of Natural Resources.  Appreciate you, PSC.
  8. Galvanized Steel – Good grief.  Trying to get us to replace Galvanized steel is utter BS.  They use and oxymoron.  Emphasis on “moron”.  They say, “the problem with galvanized steel is that there is Lead in the galvanizing process”.  But on the other hand, they say “the problem with Galvanized steel is corrosion”.  Both are mutually opposed.  If the interior of the pipe is corroded, then the lead is gone.  The UW State Hygiene lab performed Lead testing on my Galvanized Steel line, drawn from my kitchen tap, aerator not removed.  No Lead detected.  Brazillian study refers to a scientific paper, where they “proved” that Galvanized steel was a problem regarding lead contamination.  When you read the entire paper, they actually got their data from scraping the outside of a pipe, to find lead coating (galvanization).
  9. Extensive Meta Data.  Lead pipes were used in commonly in construction from the 1890’s through 1927.  The generation that were born in the 20’s:
    1. Lived through the great depression
    2. Fought and defeated 2 of the world’s great tyrannical regimes, at one time, over two oceans
    3. The manufacturing might and ingenuity of that generation are staggering
    4. These are/were
      1. Good people
      2. Brave people
      3. Intelligent people
  10. Physical Data/Contact time – If water is fairly fresh, and runs over the lead lateral, it has very little time to pick up any particles or debris in pipes
    Therefore, doing what we’ve always done, using the restroom/showering first thing in the morning, is the best way to mitigate lead exposure.  The EPA’s own data clearly shows this.  They just can’t admit it.
Extra Notes

https://chemistry.beloit.edu/classes/Chem117/lead/index.html

Source credits below graphs, legitimate sources. The Beloit site is just where I found the data

Left bar graph

  1. Blue bars: Number of Children tested from 1.5 million to 4 million per year. Lots of kids, statistically relevant study.
  2. Red line: Steady decrease in lead blood levels (number of children with BIL >/= to 10ug/dL)
  3. 1997 to 2015
  4. Roughly correlated with the decrease of leaded gasoline use in America

Map of USA

  1. Lots of lead underground in the USA (Red and Orange)
  2. Plenty of lead in Wisconsin

 

Extra Notes

1)AI search “Was there ever a lead mine near Madison WI”

2)Point being, if lead is present under ground, we would expect to see it in well water. 

 

Extra Notes

1)https://www.mindat.org/locentry-917717.html  “About” source   https://www.mindat.org/a/aboutmindat

2)Interactive map (capable of zooming in/out, and adjusting locale) of confirmed Lead mines near Madison WI

3)Fitchburg borders Madison.  We shouldn’t be surprised if/when lead shows up in ground (well) water, considering that lead was abundant enough to mine so close to Madison.

4)As well, considering the prevalence of mining, is it possible that there are lead spikes in wells from time to time?

Extra Notes

https://www.epa.gov/lead/actions-reduce-potential-lead-exposure

  1. The EPA itself says drinking water is #8 on the list of things you could/should do to reduce your exposure to lead.
  2. The two things that are most important for drinking water (Shower, run your water) ARE NOT PART OF THE EPA MANDATE ON DRAWING WATER FOR SAMPLE ANALYSIS.
  3. The first six items are inexpensive to do!
  4. Water system lead reduction can also be done cheaply, and effectively with very little expenditure, compared to lateral excavation and replacement.
  5. With the proper emphasis on the proper ideology, this work could also be complete in a couple of years, vs. the 10 year plan in the BIL.
Extra Notes
  1. Clean out aerator frequently (FREE WOO HOO!)
  2. Under sink water filter
  3. Culligan US-600A Housing – $31.85    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Culligan-Under-Sink-Drinking-Water-Filter-with-Cartridge/15552368?wl13=1176&selectedSellerId=0&wmlspartner=wlpa&gStoreCode=1176&gQT=1Culligan D-40A filter (rated for lead)   $52.77    https://www.walmart.com/search?q=culligan+D-40+water+filter

    This filter alone will reduce lead substantially, likely near elimination

  4. Zero Water (Culligan) filtration system.  I like the seal on this unit (O-ring seal near top of filter).  That’s a snug junction, and also on a stationary unit.  Pitcher filters are OK, but I’m not fond of the filter being able to slip around as you use the pitcher.  This unit is also nice for monitoring performance.  If it takes a longer time to filter your water, you know your filter is loading, and it’s time to replace it.  There’s a smaller/cheaper unit too.
  5. Culligan with ZeroWater Technology
  6. So, we have a lead rated under sink, high capacity 10 inch filter housing ($31.85), plus a higher rated filter than the included one ($52.77), plus a 52 cup ready read dispenser (comes with 2 filters, $64.99).  Grand total = $149.61 
  7. Reverse Osmosis (RO) units are nice, and certainly get one if you want.  I think most people will find that these two options (under sink filter, and filter reservoir) are Economical, easy to manage/install, and extremely effective.  It’s nice to have 2 of them, which give you some surety in case one fails for some reason.  Even better, stagger the filter change dates by ½ year.  That way, the filters don’t age at the same time.
  8. WELL, SINCE WE’VE SPENT SO LITTLE MONEY ON FILTRATION, LET’S GO WHOLE HOG AND GET A HEPA VACUUM TOO!
Extra Notes
  1. 1)  I liked this vacuum because the filter is washable/reusable, and it’s more of an industrial/commercial design.  Little nervous about the crevice tool though : )
    https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-2665/Upright-Vacuums/Sanitaire-Bagless-HEPA-Vacuum?pricode=WA9442&gadtype=pla&id=H-2665&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8q–BhDiARIsAP9tKI1Lf8vmwh8iJZW6Vjnadhk8qh9eF6_nZagXjFZQysxpfTEEPApR1W8aAleXEALw_wcB
    Total for filtration =   $149.61
    Vacuum  $365
    Total  $514.61

  2. I’ll bet any of these *** clowns from the EPA that I can go into a home in Milwaukee’s interior, get this done within 2 hours (filters) and prove a Lead reduction in drinking water that is better than their stinking LSL replacement.
  3. Moreover, the vacuum will greatly reduce the exposure that is most important Lead contaminant, Dust, and lead based paint.  The HEPA (High Efficiency Particle air) is a nice filter.
  4. After vacuuming, wipe down window sills, and floorboards, then seal them with caulk.  Easy peasy.

  5. By the way, you don’t need a stinking “Lead professional” to do this.  You need someone from the neighborhood, someone people trust in their homes.  You can easily get proper protective equipment.  Please advise the EPA to stick their Lead professional up their Lead Pipe.
Extra Notes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mdi3HCSIKk&ab_channel=Channel3000%2FNews3Now News Segment, aired on Channel 3, Madison WI, 10pm, October 10, 2024 (News 3 Now at Ten: October 10, 2024)

If the video is removed from Youtube for any reason, I have a backup copy stored in several places.

This News segment gives a brief summary, and some of the documentation of the mess in my City (Evansville Wisconsin) and the resultant desire of mine to get to the bottom of the Science and rationale behind the illegal police action and illegal threats of the    Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the

Wisconsin State government (Department of Natural Resources)

City of Evansville WI

to force people to pay to replace their Lead Service Laterals (LSLs)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mdi3HCSIKk&ab_channel=Channel3000%2FNews3Now

Extra Notes

How this all started:

We had road work on our street and a neighboring street in 2024.  The initial information from the City of Evansville was that the LSL/Galvanized steel water supply would be OPTIONAL (letter in Youtube video, and a slide later)

Sept. 6 2024, the Cowardly Moronic letter (CML, Left Side).  was taped to our doors This happened to roughly 23 residences on my street (Almeron Street), in Evansville, Wisconsin.  My neighborhood is economically disadvantaged.  Not only was our city threatening to shut off our water, but also this would put any scheduled shut off in December, which is expressly illegal in Wisconsin.

The City of Evansville has neither the jurisdiction, nor the authority to shut off water for any reason other than non payment, or emergency (repair).  Even then, the customer can appeal to the Public Services Commission of Madison WI.  The appeal is lengthy and detailed.  This is to give the customer every opportunity to keep their utilities on.

My home was built in 1890.  The City ripped out most of my west sidewalk and forced me to build a brand-new sidewalk on my south side, where none had existed for 130 years.  Total = $4,800.

As mentioned in the video, my quote for lateral replacement was $3,500, bringing my total to $8,300.  This was $8,300 in extra taxes, in one year.  We were offered no money for compensation, whereas just last resurfacing project (2023), about 3 streets over recieved a $2,000 subsidy (Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin).

Evansville Mayor Dianne Duggan, Evansville City Administrator Jason Sergeant, Evansville City Engineer Brian Berquist, Former head of Evansville City Council Cory Neeley, and Evansville City Councilman Jim Brooks have all maintained since Sept. 6 2024, that the letter on the left is the responsibility of Town and Country Engineering, who wrote the letter on the right.

The numbers on the Cowardly Moronic letter (CML)  are the number of references to the City, the number 1 near the bottom is the sole reference to Town and Country, with “City” two words to the left.

There will be more detail on this later, and the respective chronology.  It’s important to get to the science, and get the facts out to the people as soon as possible, pending corroboration

Extra Notes

Google “Are lead and calcium similar”

Neurotoxicology review:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8247416/

Tufts Edu lead and calcium

https://sites.tufts.edu/leadpoisoning/pathways/lead-and-calcium/#:~:text=Lead%20can%20mimic%20calcium%20because,a%20radius%20of%20106%20pm.&text=In%20their%20elemental%20forms%2C%20lead,a%20radius%20of%20197%20pm.

Unraveling….

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37889332/

Extra Notes

https://nieonline.com/downloads/fighting_with_food/get_the_lead_out.pdf

Extra Notes

https://nieonline.com/downloads/fighting_with_food/get_the_lead_out.pdf

Extra Notes

https://nieonline.com/downloads/fighting_with_food/get_the_lead_out.pdf

Extra Notes

Figure on the left:  https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Hofmeister-and-lyotropic-series-of-ions-in-water-The-ions-of-the-Hofmeister-series_fig1_319223676

Key points,

Calcium salts and lead salts (Carbonate, Phosphate, Sulfate) all have low solubility (Form silt or chalky gunk, and fall out of solution).

Calcium and Lead are similar in size/strength (ionic charge)

Extra Notes

Abigail Cantor, et.al.

It looks like collaborative publications (Abigail Cantor with the EPA) stop in 2014 (Flint MI water crisis)

Was Abigail Cantor was a proponent of “eliminating chemicals” like corrosion control (Phosphates), and replacing lead pipes as corrosion control?

Were the EPA on board until the Flint water Crisis?

Extra Notes

Abigail Cantor – Process Research Solutions, LLC
PO Box 5593
Madison, WI 53705

“About” link in Process Research Solutions website

Current, 01 Mar 2025

https://www.processresearch.net

Extra Notes

Picture of pipe rig used to simulate Lead Corrosion given different Corrosion inhibition chemicals, Abigail Cantor’s rig, EPA literature

This is a 2nd generation rig, with the cards in the pipe.

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf

Abigail Cantor – Process Research Solutions, LLC
PO Box 5593
Madison, WI 53705

https://www.processresearch.net

1991 – LCR new 15ppb Lead Federal allowable level (From previous 50 ppb)

1992 – Madison WI lights up at 16ppb lead

1997 – Process Research solutions founded

2000 – Madison WI starts LSL replacement

2010 – This report (Lead and Copper Rule Compliance Sampling)

2011 – Madison WI finishes LSL replacement

2014 – Flint MI water Crisis

Extra Notes

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WNDR) figures heavily in:
Treating Citizens of the State of Wisconsin terribly in terms of
Creating a new police enforcement activity (The pipe police?)
  Threatening with fines, and water shut off
  Nefarious changing of grant award money from my community, mid stream
  Telling Citizens “There’s no money”. 

Throughout this document, the Scientific literature, and government proceedings, you see, Abigail Cantor, the EPA officials (Michael Schock, Simoni Triantafyllidou, Michael Desantis, Kirk Scheckel), and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Later in “Lead and Copper Rule Compliance Sampling”, you see City of Madison Charter, and City documents showing the creation of a “Water Authority” position, from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Curiously absent, is any thought or knowledge base, and fundamental water system experience from the division of State Government, that oversees:

  1. Water
  2. Electricity
  3. Gas

The Public Services Commission

  That’s a very curious thing.  More on that later

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf   Page 3

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf   Page 4

  1. “True nature of Madison’s water” – This is good writing.  She’s got something new and exciting coming up.
  2. “Logical decisions….popular anecdotal opinion” This is excellent writing again. This is a jab at the current thinking.  She is equating the existing thought, experience, trending, and knowledge base to popular anecdotal opinion.  In other words, She’s a bit smarter than everyone established in the Water Quality System.  They are the dinosaurs, and she’s cutting edge.
  3. “Jar Tests”, Statistical design.  This is where things started to smell funny.  Jar tests would give you a yes or no answer, in a stagnant environment, which would never occur in a water system.  The whole point of a water system is to keep it moving.  Lines that branch and are not used (Dead ends) are the death knell of any water system.  Stagnancy in water analysis is only appropriate if you’re studying a pond.  Statistical design likely refers to setting up experiments using DOE (Design of experiment) software.  It’s useful in the right hands, but minimally useful when you have an inappropriate model.  In other words, “Statistical design” means I’m trying to impress someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.
  4. Polyphosphate, and polyphosphate/Orthophosphate blend are used frequently in water processing.  There’s lots of names for poly phosphate, like polymer, etc.  Abigail Cantor says the polyphosphate INCREASES the LEAD in her experiment, then doubles down and mentions it again for emphasis.
    1. If you have a model/result that is different from accepted theory, you don’t report it, you troubleshoot it.  You certainly don’t report it in a review.  You go back to your model and see what went wrong.  Unless, you don’t understand what went wrong……
  5. More condescending crap, this time to Chemical Companies. Chemical companies help me in my work. They have data, technical people who help me figure out things, and are generally quite courteous, even if your question doesn’t sell them a product.  “Ambiguous Efficacy” – This is BS.  No one posts contradictory scientific data on the efficacy of their product.  She is saying that the chemical company is shooting itself in the foot with it’s own experimental results.  It looks like Abigail Cantor may not understand the data they present.  “Jar tests did not represent actual piping system”.  Well, no duh.
  6. Bagging on smaller communities for not testing polyphosphate prior to using it.
  7. “It was rumored that pure orthophosphate would form a precipitate with calcium”  Yes, I’ve heard that rumor.  It stated in problems sets I worked through in Freshman Chemistry.  Calcium readily precipitates with phosphate.  So do Magneisum, and lead.  Phosphate is a really good thing to have around, as a co-precipitant to both Calcium and lead.  That way it falls out of solution, and you become less likely to drink it.  You see Calcium phosphate show up in literature on waste water analysis.  It’s called ACP, or Amorphus Calcium Phosphate.  This is critically important later.  As well, when in precipitated form, the phosphates are easily filtered.
  8. ”pH adjujstment with sodium hydroxide, high pH problems”. Most of the drinking water literature is consistent regarding higher pH being favorable in prevention of pipe corrosion. Everyone knows that intuitively.  High pH is like baking soda, which is OK on metal.  Low pH is acid, or sour, and can corrode metal.  As an example, muriatic acid (synonym for Hydrochloric acid), or Sulfuric acid (Battery acid).  Very corrosive.   Bad for metal, bad for pipes.
  9. “Precipitation of Calcium and magnesium, causing hydraulic problems”.  This observation is very strange.  This could only happen if the water in the pipe rigs were changed repeatedly without the pipes being cleaned.  It’s pretty shocking that they’re not looking at the lead in the precipitate, vs. released lead.  In this literature, you seldom see anything distinguishing ionic from elemental, nor discussion on the relevancy thereof.  That type of data is in verbiage, but they don’t show numbers.
  10. appurtenances – “an accessory or other item associated with a particular activity or style of living”. I didn’t know pipes had appurtenances. Had to look that word up.
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  page 5

4) Kept the number four, transferred from the last page that mentioned Polyphosphate increasing lead (two times).  Polyphosphate here 2 times, for a total of four times in two pages.

1)It looks like they’re advocating no phosphorus, but also say that orthophosphate decreases lead.  Precipitate of lead is a good thing.  You want Lead insoluble.

2)Sounds like they’re taking Poly, and/or orthophosphate out of the drinking water processing.  If they did that, I wonder if that was when they were getting Color/Manganese/Iron in the drinking water?

3)EPA/DNR/Cantor all want to ban phosphorus?

 

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  page 6

  1. Several problems here.  Why is the Wisconsin Department of Natural resources regulating what is in the pipe, rather than the Public Services Commission, which has jurisdiction, authority, expertise, and experience?  Why is the WDNR pulling a number out of their *** that is different from the Federal Allowable level, without justification in the Science?  Why on earth would you use the term “optimized”?
  2. “Encouraged” comes up in the DNR/City of Evansville letters early on.  “Encouraged” became “mandatory” (like in the video segment), or we shut your water off, in December.  Isn’t it great to have a government POLICE FORCE that’s so in tune with water quality?
  3. Madison Water Utility?  Is that the Public Services Commission?  Is it the new DNR “Water authority”?  They’re saying Later replacement (LSL), “Good for the Customer”, “Good for the community”, “Good for the Utility”  TRIPLE WIN
  4. VERY IMPORTANT  This is Process Research Solutions, and the EPA’s goal.  They want to eliminate phosphorus from waste water streams.  Good rationale? Is corrosion control the only thing phosphorus does in our water?
    1. Is phosphorus beneficial as a buffer?, keeping the pipes from experiencing acidic conditions and corrosion?
    2. Why do they think Corrosion control is not necessary for Copper?
    3. Does phosphate precipitate Lead?  Yes, it does.  Therefore, lead is much less likely to be consumed.
    4. How does a Chemical Engineer not know these things?
    5. Environmental impact – https://www.cleanlakesalliance.org/state-of-the-lakes/  2023, Lake Monona (Madison, WI) rated Excellent for Phosphorus, and Good for Clarity.  Oh, here’s another thing,
      Synonyms for Phosphate:
        Sodium Phosphate (Dibasic, and monobasic)
      Disodium Phosphate, monosodium Phosphate
      Orthophosphate (single phosphate ion)
      Corrosion chemical
      Phosphorus
      Inorganic PhosphorusScientists love synonyms.  Make it less likely that we’ll be replaced by monkeys.  Point being:  Phosphate is in just about every processed food and drink.  That means excess phosphate is excreted to wastewater.Then you have livestock and farming runoff….

      A typical Soy/Corn fertilizer is 18/18/18.  That’s percent Nitrogen/Phosphorus/Potassium.

      https://www.cleanlakesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2021-State-of-the-Lakes-Report-Compressed.pdf  (estimates 16,500 POUNDS of phosphate to lake Monona from farm run off.

      Did they try eliminating Phosphate/corrosion control in Madison’s drinking water?

      What was the cost and environmental impact of eliminating corrosion control in Flint Michigan, in 2014?  Did they get the idea from this paper?

       

  5. Classic technique for science BS.  Put text prior to the data.  Separate the data from the text.  Best way to conceal that you have crappy data.  Admit it, but be sly.
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf   Page

  1. “It was surprising finding to see that lead can persist in a plumbing system several years after the source of lead has been removed”.  Yes, I can see how that might be surprising, considering how you just made Madison WI replace 9,000 pipes for a whopping 30ish million dollars.
  2. “Erratic Lead”  The root of Erratic is Err, or Error.  “Arbitrarily becoming entrained”.  That’s Scientific Academy Award writing.  If you give an arbitrary mechanism, for arbitrary data, then the arbitrary data is “explained”.  Get it?
  3. Hey, now the Department of Natural Resources agrees.  We got buy in from the Bear/Moose/Deer/Fish people.  We’re going with “random release of Lead”
  4. Pipe film Analysis – One of Michael Schock’s papers will be later.  Mr Schock (EPA) says, “lead concentrations found in Madison are more than a factor of 10 below the expected lead concentrations from the theoretical model (Lytle and Schock, 2005).  What that means, is that they were expecting much larger release of Lead from the pipes, but weren’t seeing it.  That means, Lead is coming from somewhere they either don’t know, or won’t say.
  5. Again, and admission that the lead in drinking water is primarily Particulate/Metallic/inorganic.   That means, it’s not potent biologically, and that it can be easily filtered out of drinking water.  Wow Cantor/EPA.  Just WOW.
  6. SO, EPA/CANTOR do not recommend the LEAST EXPENSIVE/MOST EFFECTIVE OPTION OF FILTRATION.  Rather, they continue to recommend the MOST EXPENSIVE/LEAST EFFECTIVE method of Lead/Galvanized steel lateral water supply replacement.
  7. This paper is 2010,
  8. Flint Water Crisis, Shock’s paper (EPA), and yet another Madison City Infomercial (EPA seeks details of Madison’s Lead Service Replacement Program) are in 2014
  9. Intriguingly, Cantor/Maynard/Mast part company with the EPA in 2014 with regard to publishing.  Do you think that may have been because one, or the other, wanted to distance themselves from the potential that Madison had no corrosion control (phosphate) in the water supply for a period, under the “recommendation” of Cantor/EPA/WDNR?  This is a suspicion of mine.  This work seems to indicate that direction of thought
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 8

1)Figure one, barely mentioned at the bottom of Page 6 (two pages ago).

2)Keep in mind, it is being said that this data substantiates the point that the laterals are causing lead levels in excess of the Federal allowable Limit of 15ppb.

3)First of all, why the Scatter?  Does that increase data confidence?

Previously Abigail Cantor mentions Statistical methods in setting up Jar experiments (static samples)

Where is the statistical work here?

Typically we express confidence in our data with a ratio.  It’s called confidence, R squared, correlation coefficient, again with the synonyms….

This data would have low confidence.  The scatter is not explained.

Another data trick of questionable science, CONTRACT THE SCALE OF SUSPECT DATA.  That makes the points below 5 ppb hard to see.

4)~27/48 points start out below the Federal Allowable limit of 15 ppb (Roughly 56%).  That’s why the “OPTIMIZED” level is lower at 5ppb.  They don’t want to point out that at the beginning of their study, the MAJORITY OF POINTS WERE BELOW THE FEDERAL ALLOWABLE LIMIT OF 15 ppb.  IN OTHER WORDS, THE MAJORITY OF LEAD PIPES GAVE LEVELS OF LEAD BELOW THE FEDERAL ACCEPTABLE LIMIT, even with the suspect sample collection.

5)This is a big principle in Science.  Correlation does not imply causation.  Much like the pipe rig data that supposedly showed that polyphosphate increases lead:

You cannot explain the 6 data points below the “optimized” level of 5ppb

Unless you THINK

Do any of those homes have an elderly person, or a small child who gets up in the early morning.  It’s really hard to un-flush.  Accumulated Lead would be in/near a bathroom, or in the sewer, thus not collected in the first liter with the aerator on sample.

OR, have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and heard Sssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhclunk?  That’s your toilet reservoir filling after water seeped under your flapper valve.    That would definitely explain the “Optimized” level of Lead showing up in the initial data points, due to the fact that the water moves out of the lateral during the night, when toilet reservoirs fill.

Either, or both of these scenario’s explain the starting data which is well below the “Optimzed” level of 5ppb Lead.

Now, the author can’t use a valid explanation, because if she does, people will say, “so, we can just run the water?”  The answer is, YES

So, we can tell the average American, continue using the restroom first thing in the morning to reduce your exposure to lead under the “Optimized” level.  Even better yet,   take a shower.

Yes, you already do that.

No one grabs a liter of water first thing in the morning and drinks it.

No one drinks the brakish water that first comes out of a fountain, sink, hose, or whatever.  By nature, we like the FRESH WATER.  And that, folks, explains the starting  samples below 5 ppb. 

 

  But, neither Abigail Cantor, or the EPA want you to know that.

  The reason for that is, their revenue is proportional to the Public Outcry for Clean Drinking water

  If the drinking water is actually clean, then their revenue dries up (please excuse the Dad Joke, I couldn’t resist)

 

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 8

1)Again, improper scale for graph.  What year is the origin?  You want to see a zoom in around the origin.  That’s interesting data, that they don’t explain, except for the BS Manganese/Iron Scale argument with the “Random Release” of Lead”.

2)   Why were there not EPA cries for help and emergency on the points that were well above the previous Federal Allowable limit of 50 ppb?  There’s one above 200 ppb (~ 13 times the Federal allowable limit for Lead).  What was that?  They continually ignore data that doesn’t meld with what they are trying to push.  Is this what they’re talking about when they say “testing outside the Lead and Copper rule”?  In other words, are they saying that levels above the federally allowable limit are OK, provided that the EPA is responsible for the Lead levels being high?

1)To Simplify:

EPA Cries wolf (LEAD) on drinking water

EPA pulls number out of their heinie for Lead, post Lateral replacement (5 ppb Lead), then can’t meet that number

EPA increases funding to study and address Lead problem, and mandates the taxpayers pay out of their own pocket to replace laterals

EPA excuses high levels of lead, post lateral replacement, following their blunder?

EPA directs state government to do all of the work, and enforcement, on Lateral Line Replacement

Nice Racket

 

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 9

1)Again (and again), having a graph where you can’t superimpose the relevant data (Metallic/inorganic/Particulate vs. Dissolved).

2)It seems like this is the data that they used to say that Lead is predominantly particulate in Drinking water, but they don’t show the data or calculation.

3)Again (and again) with the Capturing and random release.  Sheesh.

4)Can the dissolved lead be oxidized lead in the aerator that is trapped?  Seems likely.

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 9 and 10

  1. 1)OK, here’s where everyone talks turkey, returning to the “True Nature of Madison’s Water” that Abigail Cantor alluded to in her opening address
    1. “An example to the national drinking water community”.  Agreed here, this is a fantastic example of a group of people getting together, deciding that the EPA and the WNDR need people/funding to fulfill their mission.  Are they taking decisions regarding our most precious resource (water) out of the hands of those who have experience, knowledge, and expertise (The Public Services Commission), to those who have “new ideas” (Process Research Solutions, Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources).
    2. Abigail Cantor, (Civil Engineer, Masters in Chemical Engineering), Michael Schock (Chemist, EPA), and Barry Maynard/David Mast (University of Cincinati), are all on board.
  2. In my count, this is the fifth time Cantor has mentioned PolyPhosphate as not being successful in removing lead, or increasing lead in her pipe Rig experiment  I’ll detail that in the next 2 slides.
  3. “Very protective pipe film”, “highly protective film” – This comes from Michael Schock’s work.  We’ll review a 2014 paper of his later.  It does beg the question, If you have a very protective pipe film, or a highly protective film, why are you messing with it?  WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MAKING PEOPLE REPLACE PIPES WHEN THAT SUBJUGATES THEM TO 4-8 YEARS OF LEAD LEVELS IN DRINKING WATER THAT ARE FAR IN EXCESS OF THE FEDERALLY ALLOWABLE LIMIT??????
  4. “lead is stored in the distribution system until it is released randomly”.  Random release, Arbitrary mechanism of release, We know it happens, but can’t explain it.  Therefore, our “findings” and “discoveries” cannot be challenged.  Random and Arbitrary can work in your favor, if you’re Abigail Cantor, The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, or, The Federal Environmental Protection Agency.  That’s some fortuitous science there.  Wouldn’t it be a great thing if we could use “Random and Arbitrary” as an excuse at work?  “Gee Boss, I would have met that deadline, but for random and arbitrary circumstances”.
  5. “Not all increases in lead and copper in drinking water are caused by uniform corrosion”.  That’s an interesting statement.  I can’t recall any data presented on Copper in this work.  What does it imply?  Does it imply that there may be lead coming from the well?  Where is it coming from?  “Madison has been shown to have minimal uniform corrosion”.  Is this justification for eliminating phosphate or polyphosphate from water processing?  I would love to know if they did this, and when they did this if they did.  That would answer a lot of questions.
Extra Notes

https://www.denverwater.org/your-water/treatment-process

  1. Most pumping in a water system is primed effectively, by being submerged or fed properly.  This is important because it keeps oxygen low in the water, which prevents bacterial growth, and solidifies corrosion control.
    As an example, water towers/elevated reservoirs feeding supply systems, using gravity to feed final distribution.
    Pumps can gulp, or hammer.  Both create pressure increases and decreases, which promote gas bubble formation (oxygen) in the water.  Air pockets are bad in pipes.  Air/Gas pockets in pipes promote corrosion.
  2. Flocculation and sedimentation get the majority of the big stuff out, and also reduce bacterial load.
  3. Polymer/polyphosphate addition.  This is important.
    1. Polyphosphate helps in Iron color reduction (complexes Iron).  This is a primary complaint of customers (Red/Brown water).
    2. Polyphosphates act as “sequestering agents,” meaning they bind to iron ions, preventing them from oxidizing, or forming insoluble precipitates, e.g., rust-colored compounds that cause stains/color.
  4. Filter, usually sand, often activated carbon (fancy charcoal)
  5. Disinfectant, Chlorine, or Chloramine most often.
  6. Orthophosphate corrosion control
Extra Notes

Picture of pipe rig used to simulate Lead Corrosion given different Corrosion inhibition chemicals, Abigail Cantor’s rig, EPA literature

This is a 2nd generation rig, with the metal (lead) cards in the pipe.

Extra Notes

This is my kitchen sink aerator.  The debris is at least four years old.

Beneath the red plastic layer is a two mesh (interwoven metal wire) screen.

  1. The fine layer of white silt you see in the bottom of a glass of drinking water is Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (ACP).  Remember, lead is very similar to Calcium, and can form analogous material.
  2. In an aerator, debris and ACP (and lead equivalent) can form layers that harden with repeat drying.  Also, polymer residual can help to coat  and keep adding to trapped debris, over time.
  3. Since Lead is an analog of Calcium, small levels of lead accumulation in an aerator are expected.  The EPA and Abigail Cantor ignore this in publications.  This could explain their residual data, coupled with Unidirectional flushing of water mains.
  4. Furthermore, since and aerator performs aeration, this is the most likely place for Lead Oxides in the water stream/supply to form.  The aerator is the MOST likely place to form the MOST dangerous form of lead, yet, both the. EPA and the WNDR approve of this sampling method using aerators.  Sounds like they wanted to find lead, and did what they had to do to make sure the level was high, ignoring the fact that people flush/shower prior to drawing water.
  5. Everyone agrees it’s great to clean aerators by reverse flow.
  6. The EPA’s sampling method insists on keeping the aerator on, and sampling the first liter of water (e.g., prior to a flush or shower), thus obtaining the scariest/highest Lead concentration possible, totally discounting normal human behavior in a residence (water use patterns).
Extra Notes
  1. This is the most important fact about lead in the water system.  It’s at a very low level, and primarily metallic/particulate.
  2. This slide is repeated because the picture tells the story very well.
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 19

  1. The last statement is very difficult to understand.  Keep in mind, this is over 20 years after the first 16 ppb “lead scare” in Madison.  They are saying they don’t know the difference in lead with/without aerators, and haven’t tested for it.  That’s leaving an intense variable unexplained, in a study that has a major impact on the public.
  2. This is difficult to say, but this is really poor science.  It’s also irrational use of public money.  We have a water system that works, and they are poking holes in it.  The motive is the same as any crime drama, they want the money, and you don’t get the money unless you have a problem, or manufacture a problem.
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 19 and 20

  1. Random release from Manganese and Iron Scales again.  This is even better than the Polyphosphate increasing lead by 4 times.  This sounds harsh, but if you’re a real scientist, you don’t repeat this kind of BS.  If you suspect something like this, you investigate the wells, and start doing studies that are different than what you’re undertaking.
  2. Unidirectional Flushing as a protocol to reduce Lead below the federal limit of 15ppb, but, we’re going to keep on strong arming, and mandating extra money from Citizens, out of their own pockets, to pay for lateral replacement.
  3. Here’s the WDNR again.  They have review power over a “publication” from a supposed independent engineering firm, who is also very tight with the EPA.  One happy family.
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 12

  1. Wow.  Clear data that Unidirectional flushing (water mains) gets you below the Federal allowable limit of 15 ppb (ug/L).  Again with the deceptive graph.  The triangle is the 90th percentile.  That’s the most relevant data.  There’s only one point above the Federal Allowable limit, but no thought as to why the spike occurred.  The high standard deviation (Maximum large, Average small) signifies that the high point may be aberrant.
  2. How did the Madison experience pave the way toward water understanding?  Did everyone stop using Polyphosphate and Orthophosphate, and start doing flushing/lateral replacement as the only corrosion control?  Did the entire USA change the way they processed water due to this work?
  3. If Lead can be transferred by a number of mechanisms, why were roughly 21 of 48 tests in the initial data, which were below the Federal allowable limit for Lead? 
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf  Page 17

  1. WDNR, Madison Water Utility? Water Authority?  3/23/2010, All Agreed?
  2. No Chemical treatment?  Does this mean no PolyPhosphate?  Does it mean no Orthophosphate? When was this done, or was it done?
  3. Lateral replacement, “Significant source of Lead”, again, admitting lateral replacement reduces, but does not eliminate lead (50-75%  ?).  What the author fails to mention is that the reduction takes 4-8 years post replacement.
  4. Admits Marshfield Data, where the Lead was. below the Federal Allowable limit with Unidirectional flushing alone (No mandatory LSL replacement). The “Random Release” theory is repeated ad-nauseum.
Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf   Appendix A (WDNR)

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (in their published addendum to the study)

Winning the hearts of the people of Madison WI

Extra Notes

https://www.cityofmadison.com/water/documents/2010LCRSamplingACfinal.pdf   Appendix A (WDNR)

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (published addendum in Cantor’s white paper)

Winning the hearts of the people of Madison WI

Extra Notes

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Winning the hearts of the people of Madison WI

Extra Notes

https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/15518833/scope

A considerable amount of publishing from the water industry associated with Lead and Copper Rule comes from this journal.  These articles are peer reviewed, which could possibly mean that the peer review committee could be stacked with EPA individuals.  That would be interesting information.

Extra Notes

https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0064

  1. Unfortunately this work is tied up in intellectual property.  This means that the article contents cannot be cut/pasted/transferred.  In other words, the public gets to pay for the work, but the public cannot use the work, or critique the work.  Note that this is in a “Peer Reviewed” journal.  Given this work, and others from the Journal of American Water, is it possible that the EPA figures heavily in content and review?
  2. The Abstract serves as a summary of the content, and the intent of the work.  You want to lead and terminate with your most important information in an abstract.
    1. “Full LSL replacement in Madison achieved Lead and Copper Rule compliance”.  Not true.  LSL replacement initiated a 4-8 year period when Lead levels were elevated (Slide 34), followed by a period where Lead was “in compliance”.  Furthermore, even with the improper sampling method, more than ½ of the lines were initially compliant with the Federally allowable limit of lead.
    2. “Supplemented by Unidirectional flushing”.  Again, misleading, as Marshfield WI achieved full compliance to the LCR (15 ppb, ug/L Lead) solely through unidirectional flushing, WITHOUT LSL replacement.
    3. c)Major reduction in Lead contamination and exposure.  Again, not true.  The EPA’s own figures say LSL excavation and replacement reduces lead by 50-75%.  This is achieved through a flawed sampling protocol, that includes lead accumulation in the aerator of taps/faucets.
  3. This paper represents a pivot, in that the EPA needs to explain their assertion with Abigail Cantor, that the “Random release”, and “Arbitrary mechanism” of lead in the drinking water is due to something that is difficult to understand, rather than an artifact of taking stagnant samples the first thing in the morning, and thus reporting a false high on lead content in the water.  In the Science industry, we call this “Hand waving”.  Hand waving is close to conjecture.
  4. Table one in text of the paper text, contains complex mineral analysis of Madison Drinking water originating from representative wells (3, 6, 14, and 19).  It’s really good data, and I wish I could post it.  Take home point is that water from wells, even in a similar location, is quite variable in mineral content.  The troubling thing about this data, is that there is NO MENTION OF LEAD IN THIS TABLE. REMEMBER THAT, IT”S IMPORTANT.
    1. If your data says NO LEAD detected”, in the wells, then you state it.  That would be your negative control in the study
    2. However, if there is lead detected in the well water, you don’t want to let your readers know that.  That would explain lead contamination in the scale layers in the pipes.
    3. Furthermore, I strongly suspect, when they ran mass balance, they realized that all of the lead accumulation in the pipe could not have come from the pipe wall.  Otherwise, lead pipes would never last 100 years.  Lead is a soft metal.  Would the Lead pipes dissolve into nothing if all of the lead in the scale, and in the drinking water, came from the pipes?  How could these pipes last 100 years if they are continually leaching Lead?
  5. There is a graph (Figure 1), which shows 90th percentile figures of Lead, 1992-2013. 
    1. The graph clearly shows lead levels above the federal allowable limit in 2003 (3 years after lateral replacement)
    2. There is no data for 2006, when the unidirectional flushing began
    3. Data for 2010 (10 years after lateral replacement) is about 10ppb (ug/L),  which is below the federal allowable limit of 15
    4. The reason for the Lead reduction is stated to be THE LATERAL REPLACEMENT, rather than UNIDIRECTIONAL FLUSHING OF MAINS, when the Flushing alone was responsible for Marshfield WI meeting the LCR level of 15ppb.
Extra Notes

https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-08/documents/schockmichael_biosketch_wsd.pdf

  1. Lead Author’s page in the EPA.  Water system sampling and analysis up front.  Remember that there were differences in sampling acumen, and that the “agreed upon” sampling method was drafted by the EPA.  This sampling method created a false erroneous initial high lead content, that would never be seen in a home with normal drinking water patterns.
Extra Notes

https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/sites/static/files/2019-03/documents/triantafyllidousimoni_biosketch_wsd.pdf

  1. Simoni Triantafyllidou, Environmental Engineer, EPA, contributing author for “Importance of pipe deposits….”
Extra Notes

Mike DeSantis, EPA, Physical Scientist – Contributing author, Importance of Pipe deposits……..

Extra Notes

Kirk G. Scheckel, EPA, Research Soil Scientist – Contributing author, Importance of Pipe deposits……..

  1. It’s a shame that there’s someone in the EPA who understands bioavailability of Lead, yet that information does not come out in publications.

 

Extra Notes

https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0064

Extra Notes

https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0064

Extra Notes

https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0064

Extra Notes
  1. We were given our assessments for Sidewalks.  We were told that only cracked/damaged panes would be replaced.  That turned out to be a lie as well.  About 85% of the sidewalk was replaced, primarily because that makes the replacement of the mains, and the lateral up to the curb stop easier for the Engineers/Road Crew.
  2. So, we get charged twice on that.  We foot the price for the road work being easier from our own pockets, and also the taxes.  The City mandates that we pay ½ the cost of the Sidewalks, out of pocket, in addition to the City’s portion, which is paid for from our property taxes.  I live on a corner, and they forced me to build/pay for a long sidewalk, when there had not been one for over 130 years.  My home was built in 1890.  This also took a significant portion of my property for the City easement.
Extra Notes

So, I came home from work on Friday Sept. 6th, 2024, to find this “letter” taped to my door.

Monday Sept. 9, 2024, Joy Morrison (former Alderperson) went to City Hall, and expressed concern over this letter, stating emphatically how irregular it was as a City communication.

Cowardly:

  1. The letter was anonymous.  No one signed it.  That’s cowardly
  2. The people who are responsible for the letter (Evansville City Administrator Jason Sergeant, Mayor Diane Duggan, Municipal services committee, Evansville common council) have blamed another (Town and Country Engineering)
    1. a.No one believes Town and Country (T&C) is responsible for this letter.
    2. b.There’s an email that I gave out on the Oct 10th meeting that says it was released for distribution from the City.  Jason Sergeant is copied there.
  3. It was “sent” to very vulnerable people.  Cowardly people threaten the weak
  4. There was no offer of financial assistance, to a needy neighborhood.  Please enjoy your pool and lazy river (9 million dollar project), while you punish my neighbors for being poor.  Cowards!
  5. It was “sent” on a Friday afternoon.  Ruining our weekend, but preserving yours (The City).
  6. The Sept 6 letter was “sent”, but an equivalent letter authored in July letter was not “sent”.  This was because the city wanted us to sweat winter coming, and get the laterals replaced.  Not a single government member counted three months from September to December.
  7. The shut off date (Dec. 6) would have been 19 days before Christmas.  Imagine you sending City employees to taxpayers and residents on that day.  Was the government going to be present at the water shut off?  If not, that’s cowardly
  8. If you weren’t cowards, you would have mailed this letter.  But you couldn’t do that, because it’s an instant felony, because you knew you didn’t have authority to execute the threat, and sending threats via USPS is a federal offense.

Moronic:

  1. The letter cites a bullshit ordinance which has no underscoring authority or jurisdiction.  The City of Evansville has no authority to shut water off as a punitive measure.  The letter from the PSC (public service commission) regarding a registered complaint from me (John Brandon) proves that.
  2. The ordinance that was cited is the 30 day ordinance.  That means that in the past, you’ve used the 30 day interval on people.  That’s mean and moronic, yet the text says “90 days”.
  3. It cannot serve as a legal notice, because it could have been altered, viewed, and stolen by another, without recourse.  It could have blown away.
  4. Date on letter is Aug. 28th, yet it was “delivered” on Sept. 6.  Was the interval in fabrication/delivery due to Town and Country seeking tighter indemnicfication?  Which date do you hang the threat on?
  5. The Federal government does not require End users/Customers to replace their laterals.  BIL (Bipartisan Infrastructure law) says “Water systems” must replace lead laterals.  Since Evansville and the state define the lateral as being the customer’s, you cannot force us to replace it.
  6. The Federal government did a huge study on ways to educate and encourage people to replace their laterals.  Educate and encourage, not threaten.  In this document they mention what Madison Wisconsin did to their people.  Madison threatened with DNR POLICE ACTION and stiff, daily fines. 
    https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-10/documents/strategies_to_achieve_full_lead_service_line_replacement_10_09_19.pdf
  7. You lied to us saying lateral replacement was “optional” in April, then said “mandatory” in September.  That’s pretty dumb.  I asked Nick Bubolz (Town and Country Engineering) to read that portion of the April letter in the Oct 10 meeting for emphasis.
Extra Notes

Email sent to Jason Sergeant, City Administrator on Sept. 16, 2024

Extra Notes

Email sent to Jason Sergeant, City Administrator on Sept. 16, 2024

  1. At this time, I was just concerned with the morality of the communication.  I had never received anything like this from government before.
  2. As the conflict matured, I was aghast at how far from the law and civil procedure this mess was/is.
  3. I was concerned that no one seemed to think it was wrong to threaten people in this fashion, or put themselves in our place.
  4. The sidewalks alone ($4,800) was close to tripling my taxes for 2024.  Adding in the lateral, would have been a quadruple tax year.
Extra Notes
  1. Took the day off on Sept. 18, 2024, delivered these documents to the:
    1. Office of the Governor of Wisconsin (Tony Evers).  I actually put this in the hands of an aid.  I made sure a person from the governor’s office touched it.  Fire engine red folder.
    2. Public Services Commission (Responsible for the oversight of Gas, water, and electricity utilities)
  2. Contents
    1. Copy of the Cowardly Moronic Letter
    2. Several emails sent to City of Evansville (Jason Sergeant, City Administrator)
  3. Met with a Director of the Public Services commission
    1. The Gentleman had already started a complaint inquiry (number 1880-246824)
    2. The Gentleman listened with care and concern
  4. The office of the Governor has never communicated with me, although I’ve included the office as copied on several emails.  Not one word from the Governor’s office.
Extra Notes
  1. It’s been 7 months since this meeting, and I still have a bad taste in my mouth about it
  2. There were approximately 5 personal phones on the corner of the table where I was sitting.  Apparently, the house recording was not enough.
  3. I went just to say, we’re here and we’re looking into it (The CML, and the situation around it), and we’re upset, and we have limited means.
  4. This was my first experience going to government with a complaint.
  5. It was pretty clear that the City, in particular Jim Brooks, held us in low regard
  6. This is, was shameful government, and I stated that 3 times on my way out, loudly and clearly by saying “Shame on You!”
  7. I think it was a Wednesday, between this meeting, and the Oct. 10 meeting (next slide), where I discussed this letter with Mayor Diane Duggan, in the breezeway before the City of Evansville office (monitored by Camera)
    1. a)I was adamant about the CML not being a legal notice, the illegality of threatening citizens, etc.
    2. b)Mayor Diane Duggan was adamant that all was good and proper with the CML, that it was Town and Country’s letter, and that the Ordinance supporting the letter was valid.
  8. During much of this time, and thereafter, I’ve been accumulating information, studying the Science, and interfacing with my neighbors
Extra Notes
  1. We had about 15ish neighbors in attendance.  I didn’t encourage people to come.
  2. This was the meeting where the news segment was taped just before (Slide 18)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mdi3HCSIKk&ab_channel=Channel3000%2FNews3Now
  3. Mayor Duggan was in attendance, but occupied with her phone.
  4. Town and Country went over the April 4 letter, and I asked Nick Bulbolz (Town and Country) read the part of the letter stating Lateral replacement was optional
  5. Town and Country presented the July 16 letter.  I emphatically stated that the letter was not delivered, and that no one remembered it.  No reasoning or rationale was offered as to delaying notification until September.
  6. By this time, I had spoken to quite a few people from the previous road project, so I knew that the City of Evansville had threatened people previously, similar to us, only those people were offered money.
  7. My neighbor Shelly C. mentioned that no one believed that the CML was Town and Country’s letter, and even if it was their fabrication, the City is responsible.  I was proud of her.
  8. The previous neighborhood got testing for lead (tap water), AND supplementary DNR GRANT money
  9. Between 2023 and 2024, the DNR changed the grant award formula, so the previous neighborhood qualified for the grants, but we did not, even though we are an underprivileged section of town.  They calculated the award possibility by using City wide data, and not neighborhood specific data.  Very lazy, very selfish.  Very dumb.  They didn’t think we’d look into it.
  10. Since I knew about the testing that had been done, and I had also done quite a bit of reading about Lead by this point, I was pretty forceful in saying that the City was negligent in not:
    1. Educating the people
    2. Offering testing
    3. Was delayed in even recognizing the hazard of Lead.
    4. Since then, the City has improved in communication.
  11. I told Mayor Duggan that she had not even walked around the block.  She lives around the block from my neighborhood.  She said that she had driven by.  It’s a shame we didn’t know.  We could have arranged for a fanfare, or some other type of recognition.
  12. So, from the previous road project (Liberty and 1st St., Evansville), we had mandatory replacement, to Apr. 4 on Almeron/Walker, where lateral replacement was optional, then a decision prior to July16 2024, to go back to mandatory replacement, but delaying communication of that fact until Sept. 6 2024.  Sighs.
Extra Notes

There were several things about this communication that I appreciated.   It was clear that the PSC had a protocol with complaints, and they ask appropriate questions.  They do not take sides, and understand, with care, that the customer is upset.

  1. The PSC has a 3 tiered security at their building (Security guard, Cordoned off area with metal detector, Key card access to an elevator.  They deal with people who are struggling economically, people with kids, people with emotions on “high”.  Therefore, they need security, and protection.  It made me sad that an agency that treated me so well, has to deal with people who treat them poorly.  I have wondered several times if the additional security became necessary after the DNR started mandating that people replace laterals?  In other words, did the people blame the PSC for what the DNR did?
  2. The PSC was also thorough in taking some time to do the study, and respond.  They reviewed regulations, talked to people, talked to Evansville Government.  Really appreciate a government agency that does the hard work.
  3. The gentleman that I met with, was a director level person.  He listened with care and concern.  I saw that in his eyes.
Extra Notes

Point being, only the PSC regulates utilities.  If the DNR, or Evansville City government claims to have authority or jurisdiction to turn off your water or utilities, they are lying.

Extra Notes
  • There is a lot of crossover between Fermentation/Microbiology and water processing
    • You deal with a lot of pipes and pumps.
    • Water, and water quality is important
    • Generally, what you start with is demineralized water,  so, considering the minerals that you add to it (what your germ needs to live), you get a good feel for handling, what stays in solution, what falls out, and what conditions are needed to keep certain minerals in solution.
Extra Notes
  1. Purification is a natural progression from Fermentation/Microbiology, where the starting material is generated.
    1. a)Oftentimes, you’ll start out with a frozen brick of bacteria.  That is mashed up, suspended, and the contents of the bacteria are “broken open” through mechanical or chemical means
    2. b)The resultant mixture is pumped over various “columns” that have something in them your product “sticks” to.
    3. c)The impurities are washed out of the column (stuff that doesn’t stick).
    4. d)Then the column is eluted, often by increasing concentrations of salt, thus achieving purity from the contaminants that stick to the column.
  2. Sometimes purifications are easier, as when you have a large quantity of your target in your starting material.  The tricky ones can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
  3. Its rewarding work, as your product is usually something that’s important for the scientific community, and something that helps your company meet its financial objective
Extra Notes
  1. The spreadsheet is both arithmetic, and polynomial.  Things that are not linear with respect to scale size (like labor) were plotted out.
    1. Plotting out the non linear portion (labor) gives you a polynomial equation (something that doesn’t look like a straight line).
    2. Many things feed into cost, like raw material, reagents, chromatography resins, etc.  Some of these were amoritized (things that can be re-used)
    3. Capital costs (process and analytical equipment) were assessed, but not figured in
    4. This was a nice tool to look at scale up costs, and how proportions of costs change relative to scale (pie graphs).
  2. Patent
    1. When I started at Scarab, there was small scale data on purification, but not a process yet
    2. The starting material (E. coli clone that made CRM) was superior, and the process for doing so was extraordinary.
    3. My main focus was trying to get a process that was Fast, effective, and productive
    4. We also learned some things about our target that were quite beneficial to the process design
    5. My colleagues (Dave Frisch, and Charles Landry) and I were able to develop a process that ran four purification steps in 5 days
    6. The end result was a product that was worth a considerable amount of money, with quality that was equal or superior to our competition.
Extra Notes

Developing the PowerPoint took about 6-8 weeks.  I did a lot of reading, collating, cause and effect, and running down rabbit trails.

It seemed like every time I sat down to write, I found something else interesting

One of the great mysteries was how different Wisconsin is than the Federal Government in treatment of Citizens

You would think that a State (Wisconsin) that fancies itself as liberal, would institute better care for the people.

I stand by what I wrote in the first emails to Jason Sergeant, “Who the hell taught you right from wrong?”.  How could someone think that hitting residents with lateral replacement was OK after you just soaked them for extra taxes to build sidewalks?  Quadrupling your yearly taxes, instead of merely tripling them?

Extra Notes

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/elected_officials/ (Mayor Duggan, Jim Brooks).  Not pictured – Chair of City Council (Vacant Seat, Cory Neeley).  Cory resigned due to a conflict with Jim Brooks and Dianne Duggan.

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/ (Jason Sergeant)

The first time I was able to speak the City, was on a City Municipal Council meeting, Sept. 24, 2024.  I simply wanted to tell The City that we were pretty upset about the way we had been treated, etc., and we wanted to know who was responsible for the Cowardly Moronic letter.

Brian Berquist interrupted with a rather long diatribe on how the City was looking at improving communication, etc.  He said several times that He as the managing partner of Town and Country Engineering was responsible for the letter.  Town and Country have a rider in the contract with the City whereby Town and Country can charge the City for any legal expenses.  They all decided together that Brian Berquist would be the one responsible for the letter, and thus save the others from prosecution.

No one believes that idiotic letter came from an engineering firm.

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting

Extra Notes

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/elected_officials/

Generally, I try very hard to not speak poorly about people I don’t know.  In this case, these City Alderpeople, have not stood up for the people of their city.

They were not successful in putting pressure on the Mayor and City administrator to allow me to present this material to Council (scheduled for 11 Mar 2025)

So, due to their inaction, I will not defend them, though I extended the hand of friendship many times.

Later, I found out that Ben Corridon is the brother in law of the mayor (Diane Duggan).  It seems that rather than being a representative of the district in which I live, he is a representative of his family member.  Why is this allowed?

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting

Extra Notes

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/city_staff/

Scott Kriebs – Mayor Duggan and City Administrator will desperately try to pin this on Scott Kriebs.  I have direct evidence of his innocence in this matter.  As well, I knew Scott many years ago at Church.  He and his wife are not just faithful, they are faithful workers.  Superb people

Kerry Lindroth – I’ve not met Kerry yet, but will forever have a heroic view of people who run water systems.  It’s a lot of responsibility.  They have to do the right thing, at the right time, all of the time.  Hats off to you Kerry.

Lita Droster – My neighbor, in every sense of the word.  She’s had to walk a tight rope, as Mayor Duggan and City administrator Jason Sergeant are technically her boss (city wise).  She’s a treasure to this neighborhood, and has tried many avenues to get us help.  God bless you, Lita.  Proud to know you.

Dale Roberts – Met Dale briefly at a meeting.  When he told me he grew up on a farm, I immediately knew he could grow anything, and fix anything.  If you ever get a chance to meet a farmer, shake his/her hand.

Colette Spranger and Leah Hurtley – I’m going to put Colette and Leah together.  Here’s why.  I did a heck of a lot of reading initially, regarding Evansville government, ordinances, and the like.  I’ve also had several meetings with Leah.  It saved me a lot of time to find out the “City Hall”, meaning the office, was not the entity that I had issue with.  These two women write with a care and fluidity that made me sure that they would have nothing to do with the Cowardly Moronic Letter.  Plus, they’re just too smart to have written that.  Thanks for being so intelligent.  You saved me a lot of time and heartache.  I’m very appreciative of your work and care for this town.  The people in that office (City hall) have been extraordinary.

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting

Extra Notes

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting

Extra Notes

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/city_staff/

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/elected_officials/ (Mayor Duggan, Jim Brooks, vacant seat)

  1. On Friday 02/21/25, I met with Scott Kriebs (Evansville Municipal Services) and Jason Sergeant (City Administrator).  I had quite a bit on the Science, but it wasn’t organized very well yet.
    Jason Sergeant told me in so many words, that last year was last year.  In other words, there would be no recompense for our neighborhood.
  2. I found out later, that Diane Duggan, Jason Sergeant, and others in City Government, took a trip to Washington D.C. the following Monday (02/24/25).
    1. a)Submitted a FOIA request on 03/06/25 asking for costs, purpose, and personnel on the trip
    2. b)Submitted a follow up email on 03/31/25
    3. c)Diane Duggan replied on 04/01/25, with NO INFORMATION
    4. d)Submitted yet another follow up on 04/11/25.  Still do not have the information on costs/purpose/personnel on this trip.

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting

Extra Notes

https://evansvillewi.gov/city_government/   Park and Outdoor Recreation plan

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting

Extra Notes

Presented a hard copy of this slide to Council and residents on 03/11/25 City Council Meeting