Episode 401 — BlueConduit and the Flint Water Project

In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, switched its drinking water supply from the Detroit system to the Flint River to save money, resulting in a decade-long public health crisis in which Flint’s residents faced lead contamination and other serious health issues. A major challenge for Flint and hundreds of cities looking to update their aging water infrastructure is efficiently and accurately predicting the location of lead pipes. Enter BlueConduit, a Ross School of Business start-up that originated the approach of using machine learning to do just that. Since the company's foundation in 2016, they've rapidly expanded, working with over 100 customer accounts spanning over 400 different towns and cities in more than 25 states. For this work, Schwartz was recently awarded the 2025 Robert J. Lavidge Global Marketing Research Award from the American Marketing Association Foundation. 

From Machine Learning Startup to Shifting Public Policy

Utilizing pattern recognition and machine learning, BlueConduit started using historical records to accurately predict the locations of lead pipes. As these predicted locations became dig sites, the data was validated and verified in real time.

“At first, this was really just an engaged research project — engaged with a community, engaged with the local government,” Schwartz says. “We started realizing we can use this approach elsewhere, too. And that's when we started getting inbound requests. ‘Hey, can you do that in our community?’”

In 2020, when the EPA proposed a new lead and copper rule for the first time since 1991, it referenced Schwartz and his co-founder, Professor Jake Abernathy's research. The agency continues to reference BlueConduit in the guidance it gave for executing this work in other cities. 

Data Science as a Driving Force for Public Good

Schwartz has always been interested in using data science as a force for good, and speaks to how meaningful it’s been to invite a wide variety of students, Ross alums, and other hires seeking mission-oriented data jobs into the company.

“That's been our goal from the beginning. My co-founder and I have wanted to create not just impact, primarily in communities where these issues are happening, but also to create these opportunities for folks that want to do data for good.”

Looking forward, he’s interested in continuing to solve optimization problems for public utilities and infrastructure fields, working to continually improve predictions and prioritize limited resources.

Imparting Newfound Wisdom to Ross Students

Going down the challenging road of starting a company, Schwartz shares that it’s important to have a vision for how things might go, while understanding it’s not going to go perfectly. 

“I think my own personal experience with entrepreneurship and leadership has made me quite a bit more empathetic to other folks going down a startup path,” Schwartz states.

 Have thoughts about topics we should cover?

Send us an email at [email protected].

 Want to hear more from Ross students, faculty, and alumni? 
Check out more of our podcasts. 

Business Beyond Usual: Full-time MBA students at Michigan Ross tackle burning issues on campus and the world beyond. In every episode, the student hosts discuss a topic of importance for current and prospective students through interviews with current students, alumni, faculty, and administrators.

Working for the Weekend: A deep dive into the daily life of part-time MBAs at Michigan Ross. Weekend and online MBA students discuss their experiences and advice for prospective and current students.

Down to Business: Join Dean Sharon Matusik as she interviews Michigan Ross alums in the C-Suite to learn how Ross set them on a path to organizational leadership.

About the participants

• Host: JT Godfrey
• Producers:  JT Godfrey and Jeff Karoub
• Guests:  Professor Eric Schwartz
• Audio Engineer: Jonah Brockman
• Editorial Production: Mads Henke