Wow! Who would have thought the whole lead-in-water issue would resurrect itself in Newark, NJ? Didn’t we figure this one out? And didn’t our Public Water Systems have enough common sense to keep their eyes on the ball and not make the same mistake(s)? In Newark’s situation, lead is entering the water system from a different source, which is not the same as Flint, but couldn’t they see it coming? Or, if we want to play Conspiracy Theorist, maybe they could and the EPA had been directed to look closer at the city of Newark to begin smear politics? Whatever the trigger, the bottom line is, once it’s out there and negatively sensationalized by the totally biased media, it’s out there! As the tailor’s tale goes, once the feathers are thrown into the wind, it is really, really hard (if not impossible) to get them back. And now the lead in water feathers have been released. So, what options does a property manager have to minimize risk, comply with laws (if any pertain to their specific situation), and protect their residents? In my almost 30 years of experience, I thought it would be interesting to share a three-step approach to assess and manage a lead in water (and any other chemical of concern) risk.