North Side, Chicago
Noah Installed: Late 2018
Single-Family Home
Pre-Noah Average Lead Level: 96.1 ppb
Post-Noah (May 2020): <1 ppb
(Non-Detectable) System still running as of 2024
In 2018, amidst rising public concern following the Flint Water Crisis, a Chicago homeowner requested drinking water testing through the Department of Water Management (DWM). The results were alarming: lead levels far above EPA action limits, with some samples nearing 100 ppb. Local officials knew the public optics—and health risks—were serious.
As in many older Chicago homes, decades-old plumbing was the likely culprit. While DWM advised flushing taps for five minutes before use, this “solution” felt unreliable, impractical, and reactive.
The family didn’t just want a workaround. They wanted peace of mind.
Building on the system’s proven success in public schools, Michael Ramos set out to demonstrate that the Noah auto-flush technology could also solve lead issues in residential settings. Within a week, a Noah unit was installed at a strategic endpoint in the home’s plumbing system.
The goal: determine if smart auto-flushing could deliver the same lead reductions in a single-family home as it had in large facilities.
It worked—better than expected.
What began as a single family’s crisis turned into a powerful proof point: Noah’s technology isn’t just for institutions—it works at home, too.
“We didn’t want to move—we just— Chicago Homeowner (anonymized)
wanted to feel safe. Noah gave us that.”