FLINT, MI - The homes along back streets in the city of Flint remind Matthew Dowdle of any other town that he has visited - including his own. The Virginia Tech University student said the similarities is a constant reminder that Flint's water crisis could happen anywhere.





"I thought it was a good example of anywhere in the USA," said Dowdle who is from California, MD. "But then you got to the back roads and look and some of the old houses and it's really surprising. It's very sad. I could see this being my hometown. And well, I don't want what happened to Flint to happen to my hometown but I could see how this horrible thing could happen to it."



Dowdle is part of team of Virginia Tech students working to collect about 270 water follow up water samples from homes in Flint during the university's alternative spring break program.



The samples are from homes tested by Virginia Tech researchers fall 2015 after Flint residents were plagued with a number of issues including elevated lead levels in children after switching from Detroit to the Flint River for their water source.



The students, about eight civil engineering majors both graduate and undergraduate, teamed up with on March 7 to work with local activist, LeAnne Walters, who is known for being instrumental in exposing Flint's toxic water.



"This has been insane," Walters said of the Flint water crisis. "They're been so many highs, so many lows, so many kicks in the face, so many triumphs. It's just been a roller coaster. Every day is something different."



Walters had teams at various locations throughout Flint collecting the follow up samples. She said she is happy to be working with Virginia Tech students.



"This doesn't surprise me," said Walters of the students spending spring break in Flint. "They have show us so much love and support since the beginning. We're so thankful to have them here with us and have them working side by side with us."



Professor Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech has spearheaded the research efforts in Flint including helping support local doctors and Walters in their discovery of lead in the city's water supply. The students are part of his department and work alongside other team members testing Flint's water for not only lead but also running biological test on the city's water supply.

RELATED GALLERY: Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards speaks about Flint water issues at Hurley



In September, their testing showed Flint head a serious lead issue including 10 percent of homes that tested at 25 parts per billion, more than the 15 ppb allowed by the federal government.



Students will be in Flint for about a week and began calling residents for the follow up testing on Monday of about 270 homes in Flint that were tested last fall.



Some say they will walk away different - they know that they have to be accountable for decisions they make.



"You have to not be afraid," said Catherine Grey. "Not to be afraid to be a whistle blower. If you're afraid to do that then this can happen to anyone again."



Details



Information regarding Virginia Tech University's research can be found here.



Virginia Tech University Research Team



Principal Investigators

Dr. Marc Edwards

Dr. Amy Pruden

Dr. Joseph Falkinham III

Undergraduate Students

Madeleine Brouse

Margaret Carolan

Sara Chergaoui,

Matthew Dowdle

Kim Hughes

Rebecca Jones

Alison Vick

Graduate Students

Christina Devine,

Emily Garner,

Catherine Grey,

Pan Ji,

Anurag Mantha,

Rebekah Martin,

Jake Metch

Victoria Nystrom

Colin Richards,

William Rhoads

Siddhartha Roy

Laurel Strom

Owen Strom

Min Tang

Ni "Joyce" Zhu

Post-doctorate/Research Scientists

Dr. Brandi Clark

Dr. Dongjuan Dai

Dr. Sheldon Masters

Dr. Jeffrey Parks

Dr. Kelsey Pieper

Dr. David "Otto" Schwake

Dr. Fei Wang

Virginia Tech Staff