Flint water meets federal regulations, new research shows

New test results show Flint's water meets federal regulations for lead, but residents still are cautioned to use filters and bottled water to curtail lead exposure, according to a leading researcher who is credited with helping to expose the Flint water crisis two years ago.

Virginia Tech College of Engineering professor Marc Edwards lead a team that found in 138 Flint homes a 90th percentile lead level of 9.8 parts per billion -- below the federal Lead and Copper Rule's action level of 15 parts per billion.

Flint water samples taken in August 2015 were at 31 parts per billion.

"Even though Flint is meeting the Lead and Copper Rule, residents should still strongly consider strategies to reduce lead exposure, including use of filters or bottled water," Edwards said in a news release.

Edwards, who leads Virginia Tech's Flint Water Study team, discussed his findings at a press conference this morning.

Edwards said Flint's water is now considered normal compared to other cities with old lead water pipes. But safeguards such as bottled water still are recommended because the federal standard is outdated, he said.

“It’s acknowledged that this is an out-of-date standard, that meeting the (federal) action level is nothing to brag about," Edwards said.

Using filters and drinking bottled water can protect from exposure to lead caused by infrastructure upgrades or from "normal" levels of lead that is below the federal action level.

The university will continue to monitor the city's water, but, given its similarity to state tests, Virginia Tech's team does not plan on another round of citywide testing.

The Virginia Tech research team's latest research also found that levels of Legionella and occurrences of Legionnaires' disease have decreased to rates that existed before Flint's crisis began.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said she is cautiously optimistic about the test results. Weaver said her main goal remains replacing all the city's lead-tainted pipes.

"I will not abandon my apprehensions until that goal is reached and our residents have tap drinkable water," Weaver said in a statement. "I agree with Dr. Edwards in that we must continue to urge residents to keep using water filters, at least until all the lead tainted pipes have been removed..."

While the new research shows lead remains in Flint's water, it confirms findings from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that city's water is within the Lead and Copper Rule's parameters. The latest state tests released last month showed 90 percent of samples were at or below 6 parts per billion. For more than a year, state tests have shown the city's water to be below the federal action level.

A spokeswoman for the DEQ said the department is encouraged by the latest findings by Edwards' team.

"This provides further evidence that the Flint water system has stabilized and that the water quality is comparable to other water systems of a similar size and age of infrastructure," Tiffany Brown, of the DEQ, wrote in an e-mail.

Despite the test results, Flint residents still are coping the crisis that began in 2014 when the city switched its water supply while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. Attorney General Bill Schuette has brought criminal charges against 15 current or former state and city officials as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

“Obviously there’s still a crisis of confidence among Flint residents that’s not going to be restored any time soon, that's beyond the reach of science to solve, that can only be addressed by years of trustworthy behavior by government agencies that unfortunately lost that trust, deservedly, in the first place,” Edwards said.

Contact Joe Guillen: 313-222-6678 or jguillen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joeguillen.