(The Center Square) – The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced the city of Flint’s Lead and Copper Rule monitoring confirmed seven-and-a-half consecutive years of meeting the requirements for the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
With the 90th percentile for lead at 10 parts per billion during the last six months, December marked the 15th six-month monitoring period to follow potable water standards.
“As Flint nears eight consecutive years of compliance with Michigan’s strict Lead and Copper Rule, the data clearly shows that the modernized water system is consistently supplying high-quality drinking water to city residents,” said Eric Oswald, director of EGLE’s Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division. “The challenge remains modernizing household plumbing and encouraging more regular water usage at businesses to drive these lead detections even lower.”
Out of test results from 31 residences and 30 commercial properties with lead pipes, three sites were above the 15 ppb action level. After further testing it was determined aging plumbing was the cause of the exceedance and actions were taken to reduce further exposure.
In 2018, Michigan’s Lead and Copper Rule mandated all lead service lines in the state be removed. More than 95% of residences in Flint have replaced their lead pipes. Water suppliers are mandated to replace 5% of their lead service lines annually over a 20-year period, which began in 2021. Beginning in 2025, the maximum lead count in water will be lowered to 12 ppb.
