More than 70 Michigan water systems now have higher lead levels than Flint

Oct. 31, 2017
Results of the most recent federally-required testing shows 71 water systems in Michigan now have higher lead levels than the city of Flint

FLINT, MI, OCT 31, 2017 -- Results of the most recent federally-required testing shows 71 water systems in Michigan now have higher lead levels than the city of Flint, according to M Live-The Flint Journal.

Water sampling conducted in Flint from January through June of this year showed the city's 90th percentile for lead at 7 parts per billion. The results show improvement from the last six months of 2016, but lead levels are still higher than 92.6 percent of the 1,333 water systems regulated by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

In the first six months of this year, 71 water systems had higher concentrations of lead than Flint. In the second half of 2016, just 24 systems had more lead than the city.

Additionally, two private water systems in the state showed at least 10 percent of water samples from high-risk sites exceed the federal threshold for lead in testing results this year.

Although the new results show how far Flint has come since news of the city's water crisis first broke, it is also a reminder that there is more work to be done.

Read more here.