We are an independent research team from Virginia Tech (VT) volunteering our time, resources and expertise to help resolve scientific uncertainties associated with drinking water issues being reported (also, see here) in the City of Flint, MI.
Study Aims
a) To support citizen scientists concerned about public health, by empowering Flint residents and stakeholders with independent information about their tap water;
b) To study impacts of water age and current water quality on Flint’s water distribution systems as well as issues of elevated lead and opportunistic pathogens in premise plumbing (OPPPs),
c) To summarize findings from a and b to inform decision making and policy considerations, if necessary, on the part of both citizens and government agencies in the city,
d) To develop a comprehensive online repository (this website) as data and information become available.
Research Team and Training
Our work is being conducted with an open mind, and all our findings are backed by state-of-the-art analytical tools. We gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation’s* support for the following research grants: a) RAPID Response (CBET-1556258) grant and b) the Bridging the Gap Between Engineers and Society: Learning to Listen (EEC-1135328) grant. These and discretionary funds from Professor Marc Edwards help support our efforts to advance scientific understanding at this important research frontier of environmental engineering-infrastructure degradation-public health. Most members of our team are doing undergraduate or graduate research on these same subjects.
*Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this research website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Ethics Statement
Team members Clark, Devine, Garner, Ji, Mantha, Martin, Masters, Metch, Nystrom, Rhoads, Richards, Roy, Tang and Zhu have also taken a graduate-level Engineering Ethics and the Public course at Virginia Tech co-developed and co-taught by Drs. Yanna Lambrinidou (Founder, Parents for Non-toxic Alternatives and Affiliate Faculty with the Science and Technology Studies program, VT) and Marc Edwards (Professor of Civil Engineering, VT). Interviews and interactions being conducted with the community and the stakeholders are, therefore, grounded in current ethnographic research and tools developed by Dr. Lambrinidou around ‘transformational listening’ (including three Learning to Listen aka L2L exercises). Dr. Lambrinidou’s research is available in peer-reviewed articles:
- Ethnography in Engineering Ethics Education: A Pedagogy for Transformational Listening
- Learning to Listen: An Ethnographic Approach to Engineering Ethics Education
- Canons against Cannons? Social Justice and the Engineering Ethics Imaginary
Research Team
Undergraduate Students: Madeleine Brouse, Margaret Carolan, Sara Chergaoui, Matthew Dowdle, Kim Hughes, Rebecca Jones, Alison Vick
Graduate Students (in alphabetical order): 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 (in alphabetical order): Drs. Brandi Clark, Dongjuan Dai, Sheldon Masters, Jeffrey Parks, Kelsey Pieper, David “Otto” Schwake, Fei Wang
Virginia Tech Staff: Cassandra Hockman
Principal Investigators: Dr. Marc Edwards, Dr. Amy Pruden, Dr. Joseph Falkinham III
Inspiration
This website is inspired from WASAwatch (Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou), the West Virginia Water Crisis website (Dr. Krista Bryson), and Dr. Andy Whelton’s research during the WV water crisis. Their work serves as a model for public outreach and engagement, science communication, and advocacy.
Get in touch
Send us an email: flintwaterstudy@gmail.com
Communications Director: Siddhartha Roy
GoFundMe Fundraising: Anurag Mantha
Web Outreach: Siddhartha Roy, William Rhoads, Anurag Mantha, Rebekah Martin
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Acknowledgements: Greatcitees.com for the Flint custom logo (licensed under a Creative Commons license and freely available for noncommercial use) present in our website banner/icons
(Original link: http://townmapsusa.com/d/map-of-flint-michigan-mi/flint_mi)
[…] About Us […]
[…] About Us […]
[…] The Virginia Tech Research Team […]
[…] The Virginia Tech Research Team […]
[…] group of proffer researchers from Virginia Tech University have been doing ongoing work on a reserve of Flint celebration water. […]
What sort of contamination do the resin particles of a water softner retain after these type of events?
Indiana wouldn’t allow replacement which seemed to be the source of little white balls appearing to be the styrene contamination (mineral deposits are not spongy) months after the water was deemed safe. It is a difficult appliance to rinse out and having a plastic tub perhaps aids the resins retention of the styrene with static. But I suppose with all the mineral formations in a hot water heater such pollution may take years to free itself to float out the pipe of that which gets trapped in the mineral deposits trying to rinse out the drain line
Convinced Flint has a problem with their water supply and doubt issue will be resolved in a timely manner by the politicians and govt. I am concerned about daughter returning to Kettering University and living off campus. Is there a good source for obtaining POU filters for kitchen, shower, & teeth cleaning? Thank you.
Hi Larry, please refer to our filters table here: http://flintwaterstudy.org/2015/09/lead-in-drinking-water-health-risks-to-flint-residents/
[…] healthy, the governor’s office was running a classic game of obfuscation and denial. Finally, with the release of the most recent study, the governor’s office was forced to admit that, maybe, just maybe, the water wasn’t […]
[…] of lead in water of the city. More information about our team, our goals and training is here: http://flintwaterstudy.org/about-page/about-us/ Dr. Marc Edwards, Siddhartha Roy and Anurag Mantha will be answering your questions, today. We will […]
[…] of Environmental Quality that concerned residents should “relax,” an external research team from Virginia Tech found lead levels were a staggering 16 times the allowed limit, and a local pediatrician found that […]
[…] of Environmental Quality that concerned residents should “relax,” an external research team from Virginia Tech found lead levels were a staggering 16 times the allowed limit, and a local pediatrician found that […]
[…] Kelso thought it was sewage, but it was actually iron. The Flint River is highly corrosive: 19 times more so than the Lake Huron supply, according to researchers from Virginia Tech. […]
[…] Kelso thought it was sewage, but it was actually iron. The Flint River is highly corrosive: 19 times more so than the Lake Huron supply, according to researchers from Virginia Tech. […]
[…] Kelso suspicion it was sewage, though it was indeed iron. The Flint River is rarely corrosive: 19 times some-more so than a Lake Huron supply, according to researchers from Virginia Tech. […]
[…] to more than a year, and many citizen complaints later-after seeing a Flint mother and her story, Virginia Tech enters the controversy with 300 test kits. Eventually a storm of FOIA requests would be filed by […]
[…] water is causing lead from pipes and pathogens to get into the town’s water supply, according to a study by Virginia Tech. Flint is currently dealing with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, a dangerous […]
[…] has found that the water in the Flint River is 19 times more corrosive than Lake Huron’s water, causing the city’s aging pipes to degrade and leach lead into the […]
[…] Kelso thought it was sewage, but it was actually iron. The Flint River is highly corrosive: 19 times more so than the Lake Huron supply, according to researchers from Virginia Tech. […]
[…] I write because there’s a connection to Virginia Tech. If you visit this page you’ll learn much more about the students and faculty and Virginia Tech whose research has […]
[…] Flint Water Study The Flint Water Study is a independent research team comprised of students, faculty, scientists, and volunteers at Virginia Tech. The group collects lead kits from Flint residents, analysis toxins, and informs residents of the increasing dangers within specific homes and regions. […]
[…] GoFundMe campaign: Flint Water Study […]
[…] water supply from Lake Huron (via Detroit’s water system) to the Flint River, which Virginia Tech researchers found had water 19 times more corrosive than the previous […]
[…] Flint’s H2O supply from Lake Huron (via Detroit’s H2O system) to a Flint River, that Virginia Tech researchers found had H2O 19 times some-more erosive than a prior […]
[…] water supply from Lake Huron (via Detroit’s water system) to the Flint River, which Virginia Tech researchers found had water 19 times more corrosive than the previous […]
[…] water supply from Lake Huron (via Detroit’s water system) to the Flint River, which Virginia Tech researchers found had water 19 times more corrosive than the previous […]
[…] After the switch, residents reported that the water started to look, smell and taste odd. State officials promised the water was good. The Mayor drank the water on public television to assure citizens of its quality. Residents said it looked dirty. Some people thought the color came from sewage, but it was actually iron. The Flint River is highly corrosive: 19 times more so than the Lake Huron supply, according to researchers from Virginia Tech. […]
My home in Flint tested 2 weeks ago at 5ppb for lead using the test kit supplied by the city. For a household of one person over the age of 70, with no infant visitors, is this water safe to drink?
[…] These graduate students are part of the independent, voluntary team at Virginia Tech researching the toxicity of water in Flint, Michigan. For more information on their research initiative, visit the website: http://flintwaterstudy.org/about-page/about-us/ […]