Research

Many Flint residents still do not have confidence in the quality of their municipal drinking water, despite the use of filtration systems. This project aims to support progress within the Flint community to build knowledge of point-of-use water filtration systems designed to provide clean drinking water for Flint students and residents and to promote confidence in water use. The goal is better understand the most effective mode of sharing information about how different treated drinking waters are processed, so individuals can make decisions on the best water hydration choice for themselves.

The research has two aims:

• Create new materials for an existing train-the-trainers point-of-use water filter training module and evaluate the effectiveness of the training program, resulting in recommendations on how train-the-trainer approaches can be effectively used in community water quality interventions; and 
• Establish a Knowledge Inspired Decisions for School Drinking Water (KIDS for Drinking Water) taskforce involving Flint Community Schools staff and students that will develop actionable steps that result in understanding and knowledge retention about the quality of drinking water processed through point-of-use filter systems compared to bottled water. 

Nancy G. Love, U-M Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Marc Zimmerman, U-M Department of Psychology