EPA: Filtered Flint Drinking Water Is Now Safe To Drink

It seems that there is finally some good news for the people of Flint, MI, as federal officials last month announced that it is now safe to drink “properly filtered” water there.

The U.S. EPA said in a statement that the most recent testing at nearly 50 locations in the city showed lead levels far below those considered dangerous.

Over the past two months, the EPA, at the request of Center for Disease Control (CDC), collected additional samples at nearly 50 locations considered to be at high-risk for lead contaminated water, the statement read.

The results provided strong reassurance to previous findings of the “effectiveness of filters” in removing lead. Almost all of the filtered water returned back at concentrations well below 1 ppb.

According to the statement, based on the EPA’s findings and previous independent filter testing, all local, state, and federal agencies involved in the Flint crisis agree that the use of verified filters makes water safe from lead for all populations.

“These findings reaffirm the effectiveness of filters at removing or reducing lead. This is an important step forward for providing a stable water system for the City of Flint,” Tom Burke, the science advisor and deputy assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, said in the statement. “Residents can be confident that EPA’s sampling results correspond with previous tests and are consistent with outside experts’ findings.”

However, Reuters reported in an article appearing on The Huffington Post that the city’s mayor said some homes in Flint cannot be fitted with filters, so bottled water is still needed.

The Detroit News reported that EPA officials and others, including Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, said in a conference call with reporters that lead levels “when tested in homes with properly installed filters” were effectively limited to undetectable amounts in the majority tested.

“In most cases, the levels of lead coming through the filters were too low even to be detected,” Burke said.

EPA officials said that improvements have been seen in even non-filtered water and they expect the lead traces to continue to decline.

“I want to encourage the residents to know that it’s safe to use filtered water, which really will further help stabilize our water delivery system,” Weaver told The Detroit News. “This is good news, and it’s good to see that agencies in all levels of government recognize that additional work needs to be done, but we’re coming together to make these things happen.”

To read more of our lead contamination coverage visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.