The Flint, Michigan, school system has received a flood of investment dedicated to repairing its water fountains.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Musk Foundation made a $480,000 donation to the schools after committing to help the beleaguered city back in July, reported CNN.
Take Action: Urge Governments, Civil Institutions, And Businesses to Prioritize Sanitation and Hygiene
"We are deeply grateful for the generosity and the budding partnership between Flint Community Schools, the Musk Foundation, and Elon Musk," said Flint Community Schools Superintendent Derrick Lopez in the report. "The new water filtration systems will be instrumental in helping our students return to the normalcy of what should be a fundamental right: having access to safe, clean water from water fountains in their school."
Thank you @elonmusk and @MuskFoundation for investing in the health/future well-being FCS Students! Your generous donation will help us replace ALL water fountains w/NEW WATER STATIONS & WATER FILTRATION at ALL SCHOOLS! Looking forward to our burgeoning partnership! More to come!
— Flint Schools (@FlintSchools) October 4, 2018
The Tesla CEO replied to the school's announcement on Twitter: "You're most welcome. Hope to do more to help in the future.”
Musk’s donation will be used to install new ultraviolet water filtration systems for all water fountains in school buildings, noted CNN.
"The UV water purification method within the water filtration systems will disinfect all lead and bacteria coming from the water pipes to allow students to drink from and fill up water bottles from school water fountains," the city of Flint stated in a press release on Oct. 5.
Read More: Elon Musk Vows to Install Water Filters Throughout Flint, Michigan
Musk committed to the Flint water crisis earlier this summer, after a Twitter user challenged him to take action, reported HuffPost.
“I heard a bunch of people saying there’s NO WAY you could help get clean water to Flint, Michigan,” said @DylanSheaMusic.
Musk responded promptly with a commitment to “fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels,” before adding, “No kidding.”
Read More: Miss Michigan Slams State for Flint Water Crisis During Miss America Contest
The city’s water crisis has been ongoing since 2014, when the source of its drinking water was switched from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), supplied by Lake Huron and the Detroit River, to Flint River, which was later determined to contain E. coli bacteria, high levels of lead, and even disinfection byproducts.
In 2016, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint, which granted the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide resources to the area, noted HuffPost. Since then, the city has been in the process of replacing all lead pipes.