CDM Smith and City of Newark Named Overall Winners of EPIC’s Water Data Prize

Newark, N.J.—The Envi­ron­men­tal Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) recognized CDM Smith and the City of Newark as the overall winner of the 2021 Water Data Prize. This entry was chosen from over 50 appli­ca­tions from commu­ni­ca­tions and technology firms, academia, community groups, and water utilities detailing efforts to effectively replacing lead service lines.

The City of Newark and CDM Smith submission represented how lead pipes can be replaced quickly and equitably across the four award categories: inventory, mapping, equity, and commu­ni­ca­tions. Comments included: “CDM Smith and the City of Newark’s collab­o­ra­tion reflects outstanding work to dramat­i­cally increase the pace and scale of lead pipe replacement.”

Newark’s $180M Lead Service Line (LSL) Replacement Program ensured that no lead service line will be left behind while creating a legacy for future generations. The project team completed over 23,000 replace­ments citywide in under 3 years.

As overall winners, CDM Smith and the City of Newark were collec­tively awarded $50,000 by EPIC. $10,000 of the funds will be donated to a local non-profit Newark community orga­ni­za­tion, Believe in Newark Foundation, and the remaining $40,000 will be contributed to Newark.

“We’re honored to be recognized by EPIC for the incredible job of imple­ment­ing and commu­ni­cat­ing to the Newark residents about the LSL replacement program,” said Sandy Kutzing, vice president and discipline leader at CDM Smith. “Lead in drinking water is a challenging and sensitive topic and requires honest, frequent and transparent commu­ni­ca­tion to the public to protect their health, to make informed decisions and to prevent panic from unclear information.”

EPIC hosted an online awards ceremony to celebrate the winners and hear more about their innovations on March 29. For more about the awards, visit the Water Data Prize website: https://www.water­dat­aprize.com.

CDM Smith is a privately owned engineering and construc­tion firm providing legendary client service and smart solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy and facilities. Passionate about our work and invested in each other, we are inspired to think and driven to solve the world's envi­ron­men­tal and infra­struc­ture challenges.

Envi­ron­men­tal Policy Innovation Center (EPIC): The Envi­ron­men­tal Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) is a nonprofit orga­ni­za­tion based in Washington, DC whose mission is to build policies that deliver spectacular improve­ments in the speed and scale of conser­va­tion and envi­ron­men­tal progress. In our water work, we focus on innovative policies that improve health, access, and afford­abil­ity; eliminate disparities across water systems; and build public trust in water supplies.