Trusted by the Nation’s Third-Largest School District

Challenge

In 2016, Von Steuben High School was found to have elevated lead levels in its drinking water—some as high as 24 parts per billion, rivaling the crisis-level findings in Flint, Michigan. The school’s facilities team, led by Chief Engineer Michael Ramos, was tasked with ensuring student safety immediately. While manual flushing was recommended as a stopgap, it quickly became clear it was unsustainable—requiring hours of daily labor and offering no long-term certainty. Ramos began searching for a better solution—but none existed

Solution

After a year of hands-on research, trial, and error, Ramos developed a fully automated flushing device—the first version of what would become the Noah System. Built in his basement workshop, this device was designed to flush water at scheduled intervals, maintaining flow and preventing stagnation that leads to lead leaching. He installed it himself after hours, retrofitting it to key fountains in the building to test its impact. His initial strategy was to target the tops of the risers as a means to treat the entire pipe from the basement to the upper floors.

Result

The results were immediate—and sustained. Follow-up water testing showed that lead levels dropped from as high as 24 ppb to 0 ppb. Even as years passed, test results in 2021 confirmed levels remained non detectable. Von Steuben became the first proof of concept for the Noah System, launching what would become an ongoing effort toward smarter water safety.

Challenge

When CPS began testing drinking water district-wide in 2016, Orr High School presented one of the most urgent risks—multiple outlets measured lead levels far above federal action limits, including one at 530 ppb, more than 35 times above the suggested federal limit. The school also faced complex infrastructure challenges: aging plumbing, shared campus facilities, and building designs that made traditional riser flushing difficult, labor-intensive, and expensive. CPS needed a new approach—one that worked both practically and scientifically

Solution

CPS selected Orr for a district pilot using Noah’s automated flushing system, aiming to develop a cost-effective, scalable alternative to filters and manual flushing. Working in collaboration with Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Environmental Sustainability, the team installed 17 Noah devices across Orr’s potable water system and tied them to the school’s lighting schedule to simulate building automation.

The system was programmed to flush 3 minutes every three hours throughout the day.

Result

The results were striking—and validated by Loyola University through independent lab testing:

• Within 6 months, median lead levels dropped to 1.1 ppb
• After 6 days of stagnation (Spring Break), all samples still tested below 5 ppb
• Water quality improvements remained stable long-term

According to Dr. Zeinwei Zhu, who led Loyola’s testing:

“Auto-flushing is a very economical and effective approach to mitigate lead in drinking water for outdated water infrastructure.”

This case became a model for CPS, demonstrating that automated flushing could deliver real, measurable results—even in high-risk, underutilized buildings. It proved that Noah System isn’t just a product—it’s a scalable, science-backed system.

Challenge

Like many CPS schools built in the early 20th century, Onahan Elementary School was dealing with galvanized steel plumbing—a material known to shed lead as it corrodes. Between 2016 and 2018, multiple water tests at Room 301 East’s twin fountains revealed persistent and dangerous lead levels, including results as high as 520 ppb and 390 ppb—well above the EPA action level of 15 ppb.

Parents voiced serious concerns, prompting an urgent call for remediation. The City’s Water Management team recommended a costly infrastructure fix that involved exposing a riser and installing a new flush point. The result? Tens of thousands of dollars spent—and a catastrophic plumbing failure that flooded the school.

Solution

Frustrated and still without safe water, the school’s chief engineer reached out to Michael Ramos, the creator of the Noah System and a trusted colleague. Ramos personally visited the site and installed a single Noah device on the Room 301 East side-by-side fountains, where lead levels had remained stubbornly high.

Rather than tearing out walls or replacing pipes, Noah’s automated flushing system discreetly kept water moving through the most at-risk fixture, preventing stagnation and lead leaching from the aging galvanized pipes

Result

The results were immediate and dramatic. Within days of installation in February 2018, lead levels in both fountains dropped to under 1 ppb—a 99.7%+ reduction in contamination.
Fountain 1 (520 ppb → 0.528 ppb)
Fountain 2 (390 ppb → 0.607 ppb)

These results were consistent with what had already been observed at Von Steuben High School, confirming Noah’s ability to deliver safe, drinkable water with minimal cost, zero infrastructure work, and no disruption to school operations.

“Instead of another costly construction fix, we got a simple install—and clean water

— CPS Engineer, Onahan Elementary