Most of us probably don’t even think twice about filling up a water bottle at school. You turn on the tap, take a sip, move on. For kids in Flint, Michigan, that small habit stopped feeling safe. A 2016 paper in the American Journal of Public Health found that more young children in Flint had high blood lead levels after the city switched its water source. In 2018, Elon Musk came to the rescue with a donation of $480,350 for school water filters, though it would be years before students could safely use them, according to a Fortune report on the donation.
What happened in Flint
The city of Flint switched its source of drinking water to the Flint River in April 2014. It switched back to the Detroit water system in October 2015. The study suggests that the new water was more corrosive and that the old system may not have been properly treated to control corrosion. Researchers compared blood lead levels in children under age 5 in 2013 and 2015. The percentage with high blood lead levels increased from 2.4 percent to 4.9 percent. Separately, the highest water-lead readings were found in neighborhoods where lead levels in the water itself had risen by 6.6 percent. Most of the gains were in the poorer neighborhoods. The World Health Organization says no safe level of lead exposure has been identified. It says children are especially vulnerable and that even small quantities can cause long-term health and developmental problems.
How Musk's donation came together
Musk initially offered Flint help on Twitter in July 2018. Flint Community Schools announced a donation of $480,350 from Musk and the Musk Foundation on October 5, 2018. The money was for ultraviolet water filtration systems on school drinking fountains. The district said the filters would remove lead and bacteria from the water. It also said the systems use the same filtration used in hospitals and colleges in Flint. Then-superintendent Derrick Lopez called safe, clean water at school a basic right and said the new systems would help students resume normal routines.
{{/usCountry}}Musk initially offered Flint help on Twitter in July 2018. Flint Community Schools announced a donation of $480,350 from Musk and the Musk Foundation on October 5, 2018. The money was for ultraviolet water filtration systems on school drinking fountains. The district said the filters would remove lead and bacteria from the water. It also said the systems use the same filtration used in hospitals and colleges in Flint. Then-superintendent Derrick Lopez called safe, clean water at school a basic right and said the new systems would help students resume normal routines.
{{/usCountry}}Why the wait was so long
The fountains were not turned on immediately. The district initially anticipated that the work would be completed by the end of January 2019. Instead, the original filters proved inconsistent and were never certified, and the district could not reach the manufacturer to fix them. Kettering University engineers began searching for a replacement filter, and that search, along with the testing it required, was then further delayed when COVID-19 hit in 2020 and limited access to the schools and labs. In addition, the district has supplied bottled water in school buildings since 2016. Kettering University conducted the testing of the filters. According to Laura Sullivan, an engineering professor, these filters were necessary since some plumbing inside the schools contains lead. That meant a long wait for families who wanted students to drink from a fountain again.
The day students could finally drink again
On February 8, 2022, Flint Community Schools conducted a ceremony at Southwestern Classical Academy for unveiling the new filtered water fountains. The superintendent, Kevelin Jones, was the first person to drink from the new fountains. Flint Beat, a local news outlet, reported it was the first time in years that someone had safely drunk from a Flint school fountain. Tests confirmed the new system was installed and functioning. Water from the fountains had no detectable lead, Sullivan said. The same sampling showed that lead levels in water entering the fountains varied widely across and within buildings.
What this story tells us
Musk's donation was just one part of Flint's long road to recovery, and it could not undo the harm done to the children. The 2016 study points to aging infrastructure as a growing contributor to childhood lead exposure through water, suggesting Flint's risk is not unique. Sullivan said that while safe water is important, it is even more important that people believe it is safe. For young adults reading this around the world, the lesson is simple. Ask how your school, workplace, or city tests its water, and ask to see the results.