News Release: Flint Community Schools Water Results Show Vast Majority Well Below Federal Action Level for Lead

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2018

Contact: 
Tiffany Brown, DEQ Public Information Officer, brownt22@michigan.gov, 517-284-6716

Flint Community Schools Water Results Show Vast Majority Well Below Federal Action Level for Lead
More than 92% of schools tested as well as if not better than federal standards for bottled water

FLINT, Mich. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has completed the first round of testing at all 13 Flint Community School Buildings that began on Jan. 20. Currently, results for nine of the 13 buildings are available and can be viewed at www.michigan.gov/flintwater.

Of the 705 unfiltered water samples tested, 97.2 percent of the samples were at or below the 15 parts per billion (ppb) federal lead action level, 96.2 percent were at or below 10 ppb, 92.6 percent were at or below the 5 ppb bottled water standard and lead was not detected in 66.7 percent of the samples.

Additionally, last November and December, state teams conducted flushing and testing at more than 65 charter and parochial schools, day care and elder care facilities. Nearly 99 percent of the samples collected tested at or below the 15 ppb federal action level for lead, 95 percent met the bottled water standard of 5 ppb and lead was not detected in 81 percent of the samples collected.  Water samples collected were unfiltered at all locations where it was possible to bypass the filter.

State officials have previously conducted extensive flushing and multiple rounds of testing, replaced fixtures and installed over 1,400 filters in schools, day care and elder care facilities. MDEQ is working closely with any facility that had an exceedance.

There are no government regulations requiring the testing of water at schools, day cares or elder care facilities. The State of Michigan is performing these rounds of testing to go above and beyond current federal regulations and meet proposed state regulations.

Federal LCR 6-Month Monitoring Report Summary

The city of Flint’s water system has tested well below action levels of the federal Lead and Copper Rule for three consecutive 6-month monitoring period.

The 90th percentile lead value of samples collected from Tier 1 sites for the 6-month compliance period between July 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017 was 6 ppb with 94 percent of the samples at or below the15 ppb federal action level for lead.  Federal regulations require that at least 90 percent of tests come in at or below 15 ppb. A Tier I site is considered at higher risk per federal guidelines. This includes homes that have a lead service line or meet other criteria that make it an eligible location to determine compliance with the federal LCR. Results from the 6-month compliance period between Jan. 1, 2017 and June 30, 2017 were 7 ppb and 12 ppb between July 1, 2016 and Dec. 31.

CORE and Residential Water Testing Summary

CORE (Community Outreach and Resident Education) team members have made multiple visits to homes where a water test hasn’t been submitted to encourage residents to have their water tested for free.  Teams made nearly 8,500 contacts and provided nearly 6,000 water testing kits, with some residents passing on the opportunity to get their water tested. 

In addition to the residential water testing effort, CORE members have completed over 467,000 visits at Flint homes and had over 147,000 conversations with residents to make sure they are properly installing and maintaining their filters and aware of available resources. 

While data supports that the use of water filters becomes a matter of personal choice after service line replacement, out of an abundance of caution, residents are reminded to use filters for six months after service lines are replaced to ensure protection against possible particulate releases due to physical disruptions caused during the service line replacement. 

Residents can call 810-238-6700 with questions about filter usage or to schedule a home visit by a CORE member.

CLEAR Testing Results Summary

Testing has also shown that service line replacement is an important component to the future long-term integrity of the Flint water system.  The last round of CLEAR (Confirming Lead Elimination After Replacement) testing data shows that 100 percent of the samples collected were below the 15 ppb federal action level after service line replacement was completed.  Service lines have been replaced at over 6,200 residences to date.

Testing results can be found by visiting www.michigan.gov/flintwater.

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