Virginia Tech researchers who have been closely monitoring drinking water in Flint, Mich., said April 13 that residents need to flush more water through their pipes to help the city speed its recovery from persistently high levels of lead.

The water additives that would "re-scale" corroded pipes in the water system, thereby preventing lead from leaching into the water, are not reaching the pipes because people in Flint don't want to pay for contaminated water that they can't use.

The latest sampling showed Flint with a lead level of 22.8 parts per billion — an improvement from the 28.5 ppb recorded in August. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for lead set an action level of 15 parts per billion for 90 percent of the homes in a community.

More details here.

Source: The Detroit News