Home / Health / Flint Kids Finally Drink Safely at School
Flint Kids Finally Drink Safely at School
15 Oct
Summary
- Lead levels in children's blood more than doubled after water source change.
- Elon Musk donated $480,350 for school water filters in 2018.
- Filtered water fountains were finally activated in February 2022.
A significant increase in children's blood lead levels in Flint, Michigan, was documented following a 2014 switch to the Flint River as the city's drinking water source. This corrosive water caused lead to leach from pipes, with lead levels in children under five more than doubling by 2015. Although the city reverted to the Detroit water system in October 2015, the damage was done.
In response to the crisis, Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation donated $480,350 in October 2018 for ultraviolet water filtration systems in Flint schools. The intention was to provide safe drinking water, free from lead and bacteria, utilizing hospital-grade filtration. However, the implementation faced considerable delays.
Initial filtration systems proved inconsistent and were never certified. Subsequent efforts to find replacements were further hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting access to school facilities and labs. Engineers from Kettering University worked on testing and validation, a process complicated by lead presence in the school plumbing itself.
Finally, on February 8, 2022, Flint Community Schools held a ceremony to unveil the new, functional filtered water fountains. This marked the first time in years that students could safely drink from school fountains, with tests confirming zero detectable lead in the water dispensed.
