Flint Doctor: Residents Should Continue To Use Water Filters

A pediatrician suggests Flint residents continue taking precautions with water after service switch.

A Genesee County pediatrician suggests Flint homes should use water filters even after the city switches back to the Detroit water system. The city began using water from the Flint River last year, but high levels of lead have been reported.

Doctor Mona Hanna-Attisha works at the Hurley Medical Center. She found high lead levels in children after a Virgina Tech study reported elevated levels in Flint homes.

Hanna-Attisha says lead leaching from old pipes could still be a problem after the switch back to the Detroit water system.

“There was a perfect storm here. So we moved to a more innately corrosive water source and we did not add the appropriate corrosion control,” Hanna-Attisha says.  “So the combination of those going into an aging water infrastructure caused this to happen.”

Hanna-Attisha says residents should continue to flush their pipes with cold water and use a lead removal filter. Hanna-Attisha was a guest on WDET’s Detroit Today. 

Author

  • Bre'Anna Tinsley
    Bre'Anna Tinsley is a reporter for Detroit Public Radio, 101.9 WDET. She covers city government and housing, as well as co-hosting the "Detroit Evening Report" podcast.