About Elin
Elin Warn Betanzo is president and founder of Safe Water Engineering LLC, a small consulting firm working to improve access to safe drinking water through engineering and policy consulting.
Elin is a Professional Engineer registered in Michigan, Maryland and Virginia, and a certified water system operator in Maryland and Michigan. She has over 20 years of experience working on drinking water science, engineering, and policy issues. She worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water writing and implementing national drinking water regulations, for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission where she led water system master planning and hydraulic modeling, and for the Northeast-Midwest Institute leading their Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program.
In August of 2015, Elin played a critical role in uncovering the Flint Water Crisis by encouraging Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a Flint pediatrician, to conduct a study that discovered elevated lead levels in children living in Flint, Michigan. Elin continues to work on lead and drinking water policy at federal, state, and local levels. Projects include working with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to establish their lead service line replacement program, improving public education about lead in drinking water with the University of Michigan, and helping water utilities comply with the federal and state lead and copper rules.
Services
Safe Water Engineering offers a variety of compliance, technical advising, and educational services, including:
Guest Speaker
Recent Clients
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
Metro Consulting Associates/Highland Park, MI
Natural Resources Defense Council
Great Lakes Environmental Law Center
Council of the District of Columbia
Joyce Foundation
Michigan Environmental Council
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
Birmingham Public Schools
Earthjustice
Ohio Environmental Council
Expertise
Federal and state Lead and Copper Rule
Lead education and outreach
Drinking water technical assistance
Safe Drinking Water Act compliance assistance
Proactive strategies for minimizing risk of lead in drinking water
Distribution system water quality
Safe Drinking Water Act policy and regulatory analysis
Asset management
Committees
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) 2022
EPA Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts (MDBP) Rule Revisions Working Group 2022
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Water Infrastructure Task Force appointed, 2022
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Corrosion Control Advisory Panel appointed, 2021