It’s worth spending more time talking about those filters, not because they demonstrate Musk’s lack of familiarity with Flint’s current situation, but because they underscore the city’s deeper challenges.įirst, it’s important to note that Flint’s drinking water has met federal standards for contaminants for at least a year. And we know that’s what the residents deserve.” That’s how you’re going to reestablish trust. People need to see all new pipes going in. While filters have been helpful, we still need access to bottled water. “This is about reestablishing trust, and rebuilding trust. “We had a lot of things damaged as a result of the corrosive water,” says Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who offered in a tweet Wednesday to talk through her city’s “specific needs” with Musk.
And even then, slapping a filter on a kitchen faucet doesn’t address the deep-seated problems still felt by the Flint community four years after its crisis began. When a reporter suggested that many Flint houses have safe water already, Musk pivoted to organizing “a weekend in Flint to add filters” to the remaining houses that lack them.įlint does need help, but filters are one thing it already has plenty of the city distributes those and water testing kits, for free, at City Hall, and will continue to until Flint’s remaining 14,000damaged lead and galvanized water service pipes have been fully replaced.
Musk went on to invite residents to tweet their water quality test results to him-no takers yet, it seems-and said he would send someone over to install a water filter.