BLACKSBURG — The horrific water situation in Flint, Michigan, that gained national attention because of the work of Virginia Tech researchers continues to improve.
During a Friday news conference on campus , leader Marc Edwards and three members of his water study team touted the accomplishments of Flint’s water system as evidenced by four recent rounds of tests.
“It’s an amazing success story,” Edwards said.
Three Tech graduate students delivered detailed reports during the briefing on the science tests, confirming that water is getting better for Flint residents.
“The data confirms the system is healing,” said Min Tang, an environmental engineering graduate student .
Details from Friday’s news conference included:
- Tang said iron and lead levels are dropping. Last summer, about 17 percent of Flint homes tested had harmful levels of lead in their water. Based on Tech’s testing, that number is now 6 percent.
- Graduate student William Rhoads said that levels of Legionnaires disease-causing bacteria have also dropped.
- Graduate student Owen Strom said that another bacterial disease outbreak this summer was unrelated to Flint’s water supply.
“This [Flint] is the place I’d be most comfortable taking a bath,” Edwards said.
Edwards also aimed to dispel widely reported incidents of over-treatment of Flint water. He presented four independent, scientific studies on the chemical treatment of the water. The studies all agreed that the proper amounts of chemicals are being added, he said.
The Flint saga hasn’t ended, Edwards said, but the city is now in better shape because of its status as “the most closely monitored monitored water system in the world.”
About two dozen researchers from Blacksburg traveled to Michigan several times to analyze the tap water and then worked to make their findings public after they were ignored by government agencies.
The Virginia Tech report drew national attention to the dangerously unhealthy condition of Flint’s public water system.
Fallout has included a declared state of emergency in Flint, resignations by public officials, a criminal investigation, visits from President Barack Obama and presidential campainer Donald Trump, congressional emergency funding and a switch back to a previous water system.
Meanwhile, Flint residents were forced to rely on bottled water for their everyday needs.
According to Edwards, the state of Michigan is now working on new guidelines that will prevent lead from seeping into public water again that go beyond the work of the EPA.
Flint’s water had been contaminated with lead since 2014, when the city began getting its water from the Flint River as a cost-cutting measure. The water was not properly treated to prevent lead in pipes from running through residential taps.
Edwards has won praise and awards for his work in Flint. He spoke at a Virginia Tech commencement ceremony, and was named to Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people list.
Edwards also got a pledge from the university for at leaast five years of financial support .
He continues to deflect credit publicly while vowing to continue as an advocate for safe water infrastructure .
The Tech researchers don’t have any plans to head back to Flint . However, they’ll be vigilant and will return if anything “pops up,” Edwards said.
There is still some understanable distrust in Flint regarding research ers, Edwards said.
“The only thing you can do is be trustworthy,” he said.
