Flint Authority Falsely Reports Water Quality Testing for Lead in Drinking Water

Not our work – but Great Story

“FLINT, MI – As concerns about Flint’s water quality were mounting earlier this year, the city disregarded federal rules requiring it to seek out homes with lead plumbing for testing, potentially leading the city and state to underestimate for months the extent of toxic lead leaching into Flint’s tap water.

City water officials filed certified documents with state regulators that claimed the city only tested tap water from homes where residents were at the highest risk of lead poisoning, but records obtained by The Flint Journal-MLive show those claims were false and may have delayed efforts to fix the public health emergency.

Water samples sent to state labs for testing in the first six months of this year were all marked as having come from homes with lead service lines, but actually almost always came from homes at less risk of lead leaching – houses with underground plumbing made of copper, galvanized steel or materials that could not be identified, according to the city’s own documents given to The Journal through the Freedom of Information Act.

In response to questioning, Flint Utilities Administrator Mike Glasgow said the city was struggling to collect the number of samples that were required following the city’s switch to the Flint River as its water source in April 2014.”

To read more on this story – go to http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/11/documents_show_city_filed_fals.html

Learn More about Your Drinking Water

  1. Get the Know Your H20? Phone App (Free) – http://www.knowyourh20.us
  2. Learn more about Corrosive Water and Affordable Water Testing – http://www.water-research.ne

 

Helping a Local Citizen with Their Water

hi brian. don’t know if you remember me from ground water guardians.. I’m interested in getting my water checked here in ??????…we are on city water, but I would like a check anyway.. for instance we get a black residue on any brass sink fittings, and I am told this could be caused by excess manganese…the ????? water authority sends an annual report on their testing of various levels… they all are in accepted parameters… however, I’m not happy with a once a year testing, nor the limited number of items tested for..can you help me?
Here is what we did.
1. We reviewed the available water quality data for the water authority we could track down.
2. We scheduled in informational water test – we were able to get a $ 400.00 test for about half price.
3. We got the data back and reviewed it for free.
4. We found the following in the water
calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, silica, sodium, strontium, chloride, and sulfate.   (Yes drinking water is NOT Pure H20)
We also identified some bacteria that may cause aesthetic issues and problems and the water had a low chlorine residual.
5. The levels of contaminants did not violate any drinking water standards, but suggested there may be some corrosion related issues with the water and we provided some basic recommendations.

Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.

Can Not Volunteer
Support the organization by getting your water tested.

Everything we do began with an idea.

We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.

For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.

Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.  Unsolicited donations are appreciated.