Researchers: Flint Water Improving, But Stick With Filters
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Researchers who played a critical role in the discovery of lead in Flint, Michigan, drinking water say tests reveal another rise in water quality.
Virginia Tech says lead wasn't detected in 57 percent of 154 Flint homes tested in November — up from 44 percent in July.
Flint has a lead problem because it used water from the Flint River for 18 months without treating it to prevent pipe corrosion. As a result, the water caused lead to leach from old pipes and into homes.
But since fall 2015, the city has been tapped into a regional water system that uses corrosion controls. That's why the testing results have improved.
Researcher Marc Edwards says Flint's water tested negative for the bacterial infection Shigella, which has affected 180 people in Genesee County and Saginaw in recent months.
Nevertheless, he emphasized again that residents in Flint and elsewhere should continue to use lead filters on their kitchen taps.
"There's a scientific consensus emerging that regardless of whether you're in Flint or Chicago or Pittsburgh or any city that has lead pipes, no matter what you've been sampling from those pipes, we're currently starting to recommend that you just can never...It's a hazard," Edwards told WWJ's Beth Fisher.
"You can never trust the water from those lead pipes," he said. "You should probably buy a lead filter; protect yourself and your family."
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