Where there’s a well, there's a way.
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk announced this week that he will install water filters in all Flint, Michigan, homes with contamination levels above FDA standards, reports Market Watch.
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Please consider this a commitment that I will fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels. No kidding.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018
"Please consider this a commitment that I will fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels. No kidding," Musk stated in a tweet from his authorized Twitter account, according to the Detroit Free Press, which noted that a representative for Musk would not confirm or comment on the tweet.
The Detroit Free Press also questioned why Musk mentioned the FDA [the U.S. Food and Drug Administration], rather than the EPA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Musk tweeted the news while on a trip to China, stating that affected Flint residents interested in taking him up on the offer should respond to him with the results of their PPM and PPB testing for verification, and noted that an official email address to field future queries would be set up imminently.
The Tesla founder also stated that he would be visiting Flint in the near future to install the filters where needed, and help dispel falsehoods regarding homes that had received positive test results in the past.
You’re right on both counts. Most houses in Flint have safe water, but they’ve lost faith in govt test results. Some houses are still outliers. Will organize a weekend in Flint to add filters to those houses with issues & hopefully fix perception of those that are actually good.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018
Many reacted to the news with optimism.
“We’re super excited. He reaffirmed the generosity of this nation and their support for Flint,” said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a Hurley Medical Center pediatrician who was among the first whistleblowers to prove lead contaminated Flint’s drinking water in 2015, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press.
Others following the exchanges on Musk’s Twitter feed challenged some assertions that most homes in Flint have safe water.
Sean the levels are still high they are not testing the new homes with the pipeline changes. Very small sample size to claim victory by the State of MI; plus the bacteria, plus the still low levels of chlorine.. thanks
— Leo Solano (@Leonard_Solano) July 12, 2018
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In April, Michigan stopped providing free bottled water to Flint residents, a decision that was largely criticized by local officials as the city continues to recover from a crisis in 2014 that led to dangerous levels of lead in the city’s tap water, according to The New York Times.
State officials maintain that lead levels in the water have not exceeded FDA limits for roughly two years, noted Market Watch.
But the Michigan government website continues to promote 10 locations where residents can receive free filters, replacement cartridges, and home water-testing kits, according to the report.
The commitment to help the people of Flint is the latest in a series of recent altruistic moves by Musk, including an offer to help divers rescue 12 Thai children trapped inside of a flooded cave last week.