The FlintWaterStudy Team Undergraduate Students: Madeleine Brouse, Margaret Carolan, Sara Chergaoui, Matthew Dowdle, Kim Hughes, Rebecca Jones, Alison Vick Graduate Students: Christina Devine, Emily Garner, Catherine Grey, Pan Ji, Anurag Mantha, Rebekah Martin, Jake Metch, Victoria Nystrom, Colin Richards, William Rhoads, Siddhartha Roy, Laurel Strom, Owen Strom, Min Tang, Ni “Joyce” Zhu Post-docs/Research Scientists:Drs. Brandi Clark, Dongjuan Dai, Sheldon Masters, Jeffrey Parks, Kelsey Pieper, David “Otto” Schwake, Fei Wang Principal Investigators: Dr. Marc Edwards, Dr. Amy Pruden, Dr. Joseph Falkinham III
NSF grant #1135328
Bridging the Gap Between Engineers and Society: Learning to Listen
Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou and Dr. Marc Edwards
B.F. = Before FlintWaterStudy
William Rhoads
Where it all began
1950s-1960s 1980s-present
The Flint Journal, from http://www.teardownbook.com/photos/ http://www.plan59.com/photos/buickcity.htm
No Lead
Lead Pipe
Lead Solder
Lead In Brass
Graphic Adapted from: http://www.clevelandwater.com/customer-service/protect-your-home/home-tips
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Responsibility
Due to Flint River water chemistry
For Lead Release
Sam Owens/AP
Regina H. Boone—Detroit Free Press/ZumaPress
Sephia8 – mlive.com
Abayomi Azikiwe
RYAN GARZA/AP
On average, 133X more
Worst case, 867X more
“A major concern from a public health standpoint is the absence of corrosion control treatment in
the City of Flint”
The Daily Mail/AP
Lead, lead everywhere! Christina Devine
We are in this together! Citizen Science et al.
Maggie Carolan Anurag Mantha
FlintWaterStudy Launch
• Website launched late August
• Purpose: • Inform Flint residents about water quality issues
• Bring public awareness
August 13, 2015
Romain Blanquart / Detroit Free Press
Getty Images
For 271 samples:
90th Percentile for First Draw: 26.8 ppb
(EPA Action Level = 15 ppb)
Highest First Draw: 158 ppb
Highest overall: 1051 ppb
Lead Corrosion Experiment
Flint Detroit
Lead Corrosion Experiment
Ms. Weiss’ class at City School, Grand Blanc, MI
Flint water was always
MORE corrosive than
Detroit water
Observations
Drew: “…Flint water is
DISGUSTING!”
Ridley: “Flint = SNOW GLOBE”
Sophia: “…the Flint
water looks bad and
unhealthy to drink…”
“Flint looks like a snow globe and Detroit looks like nothing barely
happened” -Caroline
Iron Corrosion Experiment
Set up:
Iron Corrosion Experiment
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Fre
e C
hlo
rin
e (
mg
/L)
Time (Hr.)
Iron Corrosion Experiment Continued
Town Hall Meeting
Response from Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
“This group specializes in looking for high lead problems. They pull the rabbit out of that hat everywhere they go. Nobody should be surprised when the rabbit comes out of the hat, even if they can’t figure out how it is done”
-Brad Wurfel
MDEQ’s Communications Director
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150928/NEWS01/150929872/doctors-urge-flint-to-stop-using-water-from-flint-river
Public Health Emergency in Genesee County
@HealthCritics, Detroit Free Press
August 13
300 Kits
sent to Flint
August 31
VT Results from
120 kits indicate a
“serious lead in
water problem”
September 25
Filter Fundraising
started by United
Way
September 24
Dr. Mona Hanna-
Attisha and her
team release
results of their study
on elevated blood
lead levels in
children
September 26-29
Public health
emergency
declared in
Genesee County
October 16
City of Flint
switches back to
Detroit Water
January 5, 2016
Gov. Snyder
declares
emergency in Flint
January 16
Pres. Obama signs
emergency
declaration –
Federal aid for Flint
Timeline Recap
2015 2016
All Roads Lead To Flint
Photo: Matt Gentry/AP
Rebekah Martin
The Trips We Made – For Science, For Humanity
Min Tang
2015 Trips to the City of Flint
Trip 4. Sentinel Home Sampling Dec. 1 – 3rd
Trip 3. Legionella Sampling Oct. 14 – 17th
Trip 2. Public Health Advisory Sep. 14 – 16th
Trip 1. Sampling Aug. 17 – 19th
ICP - MS
qPCR Legionella pneumophila Legionella spp. Total Bacteria (16S)
Mycobacterium avium Mycobacterium spp. Acanthamoeba polyphaga Pseudomonas aeruginosa
THMFP THM’s
(Disinfection
by-products)
Probes
pH
Temperature
Dissolved Oxygen
Chlorimeter Chlorine residual
Culture Staphylococcus
Heterotrophic Bacteria
Acid Producing Bacteria
Iron Reducing Bacteria
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria
Slime Forming Bacteria
Denitrifying Bacteria
BART
Technology
Used
Physical/Chemical
Parameters Measured Biological
Parameters Measured
Trip 1 : Sampling and Learning
Sampling Sites
Sampling supplies preparation team
Melissa Mays
Laura Sullivan
Claire McClinton
Nayyirah Shariff
LeeAnne Walters
Filter after filtering
Flint water
Mobile lab in
Mrs. Edwards’
van
Trip 2: Public Health Advisory
Dr. Jeff
Parks
measuring
lead using
ICP-MS
City
Council
Meeting
Sid Roy Speaking in Saints of God Church
Trip 3: Legionella Sampling
What tap water looked like one hour
before the switch!
Culturing was one
method used to detect
bacteria in drinking
water from Flint
Certificate of Appreciation from
Mayor Weaver
Trip 4: Sentinel home sampling
City School primary school students
doing corrosion coupon tests
Marc communicating science with
students
Personal Impact
Legionella in Flint’s waters
Emily Garner
An unfortunate prediction that came true
Dr. Otto Schwake
Bacteria monitoring Fecal Indicator Bacteria E. Coli Total Coliforms Enterococcus spp.
Opportunistic Pathogens Legionella pneumophila Mycobacterium avium Staphylococcus spp. Acanthamoeba spp. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Corrosion-causing bacteria Heterotrophic aerobic bacteria Acid-producing bacteria Iron-reducing bacteria Sulfate-reducing bacteria Slime-producing bacteria
Testing for E. coli and other fecal indicator bacteria
cdc.gov
Legionella bacteria
Lack of corrosion control = Increased Legionella
1. More bacteria “food” in river
1. More bacteria “food” in river
2. Iron corrosion = more iron entering buildings’ pipes
Lack of corrosion control = Increased Legionella
High levels of corrosion-causing
bacteria
Flin
t W
ater
P
ure
Wat
er
1. More bacteria “food” in river
2. Iron corrosion = more iron entering buildings’ pipes
3. High iron corrosion removed chlorine disinfectant
Lack of corrosion control = Increased Legionella
GENESEE COUNTY LEGIONNAIRES’ OUTBREAKS
Flint Water
Switch
OUTBREAK SEVERITY
LOCATION DATE CASES DEATHS
WASHINGTON, DC 1965 81 14
PHILADELPHIA, PA 1976 221 34
BURLINGTON, VA 1980 85 16
CHICAGO, IL 2012 114 3
BRONX, NY 2015 124 12
GENESEE COUNTY 2014/2015 87 9
1.3 0.4
8.9
10.9
1.9
NATIONAL CALIFORNIA BRONX SUMMER 2015
OUTBREAK
GENESEE COUNTY
2014-2015
GENESEE COUNTY
2013
Case
s p
er
100,0
00 P
eo
ple
Legionnaires' Disease
Incidence Rates
Major U.S. Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreaks
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
“We remain diligent in our efforts to proactively and appropriately address the potential for future cases”
POSSIBLE LINKS TO FLINT RIVER WATER
Where do we go from here?
Photo: Matt Gentry/AP
Siddhartha Roy
Making sense (?) of this tragedy
18 months
100,000 residents
9000 kids
200 confirmed
Jake May/AP
Agency
MI Dept. of Environmental Quality
Environmental Protection Agency
MI Dept. of Health and Human Services
Emergency Managers
MI Governor
City of Flint
The Flint water crisis is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction, and environmental injustice.
City of Flint/MDEQ Cheated on Monitoring
ACTUALLY FAILED NOW PASSED!
Ongoing Congressional Hearings and State/Federal Investigations
https://twitter.com/thedailyshow/status/688131499615363074
Jake May/AP
Jan 12 National Guard activated
Dec 14, 2015 City – Mayor Weaver
Jan 05, 2016 State – Gov. Snyder
Jan 16, 2015 Federal – Pres. Obama
$200+ million
Life-long: Education/Nutrition/Health Services
Interim: Meet the Lead and Copper Rule
Long term: Replacing water infrastructure
Overarching: Regain the trust of citizens you failed
Trip 5: 2016 Spring Break Sampling – Before/After Comparison of Lead + Legionella
“I KNOW IF I WAS A PARENT UP THERE [IN FLINT], I WOULD BE BESIDE MYSELF IF MY KIDS’ HEALTH COULD BE AT RISK.”
- President Barack Obama
Carolyn Kaster/AP
A Matter of Perspective
The
Big
Pic
ture
: O
f In
fras
tru
ctu
re
and
Law
s [Flint] is a reminder of why you can't shortchange basic services that we provide to our people, and we together provide as a government to make sure public health and safety is preserved. – Pres. Obama
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/drinking-water/
Closing Comments for the Technical Community
• Flint was a “miracle” – It was exposed by residents, outsiders and journalists – a complete failure of government agencies!!
• Are there more Flints?
• Inadequate Policies (e.g. Lead and Copper Rule) – Often, NOT completely science-based. Stay apolitical, true to your science, but also understand the politics.
• A Culture of Compliance – Obsession with meeting regulations and targets than protecting public health and the environment
• Water Infrastructure Challenges
• Science Communication and Listening to the Public before preaching
• The Public as Equal Partners and our Ultimate Client
Why You and I should care
Grateful acknowledgement
• National Science Foundation, RAPID Grant #1556258
• Citizens of Flint
• WaterYouFightingFor? (Melissa Mays and LeeAnne Walters)
• Hurley Medical Center (Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and others)
• US EPA Region 5 (Miguel Del Toral)
• ACLU of Michigan (Curt Guyette, Kate Levy)
• Sen. Jim Ananich, Congressman Dan Kildee (and their extraordinary staff)
• 1400+ donors supporting our work
• Michigan State Health Department // Genesee County Health Department
• Democracy Defense League (Nayyirah Shariff, Claire McClinton, Dr. Laura Sullivan)
• Northeast-Midwest Institute (Elin Betanzo) • Concerned Pastors for Social Action (Pastors Alfred Harris, Allen
Overton) • Parents for Non-toxic Alternatives (Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou) • City of Flint (Mayor Karen Weaver, Dayne Walling, Howard Croft,
Mike Glasgow) • Members of the media • Virginia Tech (staff and students)