Recent reports from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality show the lowest level of contamination since the water crisis began in Flint, Michigan in 2014. The agency reports 90% of Flint water samples had 4 parts per billion of lead or less in the last six months of 2018. The unfortunate event served as a cautionary tale on a national level and boosted water quality awareness in communities around the U.S.
“Sadly, our water infrastructure is failing and desperately in need of repair,” says Mike Trammell, general manager and senior product manager, Watts Water Quality. “There are many facets to the repairs and improvements so badly needed, but funding is typically the key problem. Another aspect of it is that the needed repairs also require a lot of time; we’re well beyond the ‘quick-fix.’ We’re also seeing that when needed infrastructure repairs are begun — such as large, municipal pipeline replacements — high levels of contamination can be released by the dislodging of bacteria and pollutants that were deeply embedded in fairly stable, decades-old sediments and biofilm. So, to fix a problem, we create substantial new ones.”