Bertzman Funds BlueConduit to Get the Lead Out

Water systems face a lot of uncertainty in lead service line inventory and replacement work.

Water utilities and their engineering partners need an actionable, accurate service line inventory for lead service line replacement plans. Yet, they lack reliable information about service line materials. This uncertainty delays replacements, increases costs, and extends the amount of time residents must live with the risk of lead exposure.
BlueConduit’s customers rely on their machine learning platform to predict unknown service line materials. Field teams using these predictions regularly achieve hit rates greater than 80%. That high hit rate comes from digging in the right place to get the lead out. 

The company’s clients have voiced their enthusiastic support. Officials with the City of Detroit estimate the city will save millions by using BlueConduit tech. From the Assistant Director of Water and Sewer, Trenton, NY, “This data-driven approach will ensure we are prioritizing the needs of citizens who are at highest risk of lead exposure,” and from the Commissioner of Plant Operations, City of Toledo, OH, “We want to make sure that we use AI and any other resources that we can find to help maximize available dollars and possibly be able to do this as quickly as possible.” 

Based on these and other achievements, and as there is widespread awareness of the harmful potential aging lead pipes present, the company’s growth exposed the need for additional operating capital.

Bertzman provided a revolving line of credit to support the continued expansion of BlueConduits customer base.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to back the BlueConduit team as their solution is critical to the timely and cost-effective removal of lead water pipes,” commented Neil Berman of Bertzman Social Ventures.

Ian Robinson of BlueConduit noted that, “We partnered with Bertzman as they share our social impact values rather than just being another finance company.”