High levels of lead were found in the water supply in Flint, Michigan, in 2015. This problem occurred because Flint had begun drawing its water from the local river in April 2014, instead of Lake Huron water. This presentation is based on a special project initiated by  Dr. Ahuja, Vice President, Chemists Without Borders, to prevent future Flints. It may be noted that because of the “lead ban” amendments to the Clean Drinking Water Act of 1986, new infrastructure has resulted in a drastic reduction in aqueous lead levels. However, many systems installed prior to this legislation, as exemplified by Flint, can deliver water with high levels of lead. There are disparities in drinking water quality among older communities with aging water infrastructures. For example, in the city of DeLand  (Volusia County, FL) the concentration of lead is just under the minimum reporting level for federal and state drinking water quality standards. Their poor sample-collection participation may be indicative of governmental distrust, which is found disproportionately in poorer neighborhoods with older infrastructures, and thus a higher risk of contamination. The current lack of policies and funding in place for the replacement of lead-based infrastructure gives little opportunity for affected populations to replace their infrastructure and improve the quality of their drinking water. The need for new policy/engineering solutions to replace existing infrastructure and future development of anticorrosive agents will be discussed.

Investigating the missing link: Effects of noncompliance and aging private infrastructure on water quality monitoring

254th National Meeting (2017)

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