Latest: Flint residents warned of lead above filter grade

[KeepItReal]

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on Flint's water crisis and efforts to fix the problem of lead in the drinking water (all times local):

Flint residents are being warned that water samples from more than two dozen city locations have higher lead levels than filters can handle and that further tests are recommended.

Dr. Nicole Lurie of the Department of Health and Human Services said the lead level in some Flint locations has exceeded 150 parts per billion, which is the level for which water filters are graded. She said people with levels over 150 ppb are being notified and their water being retested.

The water was tested by officials before it got to a filter, and she stressed that the results do not mean officials think there's a problem with the filters.

Flint residents have been told to drink only filtered or bottled water because of lead contamination in the city's supply. County health officials had declared a public health emergency Oct. 1, and the next day Gov. Rick Snyder announced $1 million for home water filters.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/latest-lawmaker-says-saying-water-for-public-is-lunacy/article_2609e149-47e9-5030-b1cc-903a74bf4b3b.html

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No one could have imagined that those consumer-grade water filters would not be up to the job, right?

[elmac]

1. Their finding problems with lead poisoning in Ludington MI also

probably just the start of a massive contamination problem caused by antiquated pipes.

[glinda]

2. I wonder if this is why my parents' house in Minneapolis had

grey scum around their cat's water dish? I could not drink that water since it tasted so horrible and was an awful color. The fluoride was unreal in smell.

[elmac]

4. This is a ticking time bomb that affects the entire country

spending trillions of dollars fighting wars instead of rebuilding our infrastructure got us in this trouble and it will only get worse.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. Much of it is homeowner's money, not government money

The line from my house to the main is my responsibility. If I want it replaced, it's done on my money. If the main is made of lead, that's on the city or water company to replace.

But, I agree, the money spent on wars could have been better spent.

[moondust]

6. Pandora's box?

It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of communities, especially east of the Mississippi, have old pipes that were laid long ago and maybe should have been replaced by now but weren't. I don't know if communities regularly test their water for contamination or not but they obviously should. May need a kick in the ass.

[lancer78]

8. The water company

where I live in East Tennessee tests the water once a year. It also sends a report about the results of that test to every customer.

[moondust]

9. I get those yearly reports, too.

I do live a couple miles from a state hygenic lab that does that kind of testing but I don't know if that makes a difference. A lot of rural communities have been devastated by corporatism and big agriculture over the past few decades and some may not be keeping up with things like water testing and pipe replacement.

[elmac]

11. I took weekly water samples for a large Food manufacturer in MI

They had their own private wells though they were in the city limits. The biggest problem was nitrates from all the fertilizer use. They would use over a million gallons of water each day. This was back in the 90's.

[alfredo]

10. Another tax cut should fix it.

[silvershadow]

12. Why not? Those rich people getting the cuts don't live where they are serviced with lead pipes so

what do they care?

[alfredo]

15. If they don't get their tax cut, they can't afford to dig the ditches and replace the pipes.

[silvershadow]

17. As it turns out, they are never asked to. Apparently, ever. nt

[alfredo]

18. They've been snippy every since child. Labor was outlawed.

[Roland99]

3. The answer is obvious!!

More tax cuts!

[Dont call me Shirley]

5. Hey Michganders, throw out the fascist bums!

[elmac]

7. Even the working poor here vote republican

Must be something in the water.

[alfredo]

16. Migrants from Appalachia many years ago. I saw it in Pontiac Michigan.

The coal barons refused to pay a living wage, so the workers came north to work in the auto plants. Appalachia remains determined to vote against their own self interests.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. The last recall attempt failed.

rats.

[Dont call me Shirley]

20. Even my small community has turned from solid blue into an alec nightmare because of the overlaod

of fundy churches.

[KeepItReal]

19. Here's the latest reporting from Rachel Maddow