The latest round of water testing in Flint, Mich., announced on Jan. 12, shows the city’s drinking water is well below action levels for the federal lead-and-copper rule, as is has been for 18 months. But many city residents are still afraid to drink the water.
“The reality is that Flint residents can’t reasonably be expected to trust anyone,” says Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor who helped to bring national attention to the high levels of lead in Flint water after 2014, when the city switched to corrosive water without corrosion control. The state later hired Edwards and his team to conduct independent testing. The team’s work has ended because the state’s testing is in alignment, he notes.