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Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards speaks about the condition of Flint's water in this 2015 Flint Journal file photo.

(Flint Journal file photo)

LANSING, MI -- The professor who helped bring the Flint water crisis to light more than a year ago says it won't be safe to drink from the tap without a filter as long as its passing through lead pipes.

Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards said Wednesday, Sept. 28, that filters used in homes to remove lead in Flint have been highly effective, but he warned residents in the city -- and elsewhere -- that water delivered to their faucets won't be safe without a filter until lead is removed from transmission lines.

Edwards spoke through a speaker phone during a news conference with Gov. Rick Snyder to update the state's work to address lead-in-water issues in Flint.

About one year ago, Snyder has said he was first told "that there was a problem" with lead in Flint's water supply, a situation that emerged after the city changed its water source to the Flint River while being run by a state-appointed emergency manager.

Since that time, 2.9 million cases of water have been distributed by the state, 138,000 faucet filters given away and the state has spent nearly $43 million to provide credits on residents water bills.

Those filters have protected city residents well, Edwards and Snyder said Wednesday, and should continue to be used.

"One of the national lessons we have learned in Flint is that in all likelihood as long as those lead pipes are in the ground, water from that pipe cannot be guaranteed to be safe without some sort of filter," Edwards said.

"No matter how good corrosion control is, we will never again be able to say that water from a lead pipe is safe ... The only way to be sure the water is safe is to get rid of all the lead plumbing or use a filter."

Lead service lines at 114 homes have been replaced with copper lines so far as part of Mayor Karen Weaver's Fast Start program, but thousands remain as the conduit for bringing water to homes in the city.

There are also lead service lines in other communities across the country even though other water systems weren't exposed to water as corrosive as that which was drawn from the Flint River for 17 months in Flint.

Snyder said the city is improving its lead line replacement program but needs to continue that trend.

"We proposed legislation that would essentially make sure we are on a path to replace lead service lines. And that's an answer that's not just for Flint but that would be a good answer across our state," Snyder said.

"That's something we continue to encourage the EPA and federal government to look at -- better programs to do that across the country. One of the (things) that is being addressed by the infrastructure commission that I created is to look at it from a statewide context of not only what needs to be done but what are the cost considerations of that and what's an appropriate timeframe."

In Flint, "the city is doing a better job of and going faster now with respect to lead service lines and we are encouraging them to continue to pick up the pace on that."

The governor would not speculate when water in Flint will be safe to drink without a lead-clearing filter.

"As a practical matter, the water is safe to use with a filter today," Snyder said. That's been made extremely clear, and I think all the experts agree on that. The filters are working and they are working well."

Asked if he would advise state residents outside Flint to use faucet filters to clear lead, the governor said, "That's not the current standard in our country."

"I think what professor Edwards was indicating was if you have a lead service line you should seriously look at the issue of potentially having a filter if you want complete confidence," he said.