Through this project, a program was developed to train individuals within the Flint community to receive instruction to support community-lead training of residents on how to install, operate and maintain their faucet-mounted point-of-use filters.
Genesee County Health Department
Genesee Health System
The two most common filter brands are PUR and Brita. Even though both brands have similar modes of operation (filtration through activated carbon block), installation and operation is not the same between the two brands. The training uses a blend of manufacturer information and knowledge developed from research and experience with the devices to guide users on options for how to use and maintain the filters in a manner that meets user goals. Factors such as impact of use patterns on water quality and cost of flushing are considered and included in the training. This training module is designed to be translatable to other communities that are deploying point-of-use faucet-mounted filters to address water quality concerns, as a way to empower local users of the devices.
This program was developed to help empower community members by equipping them with information that would support safe and effective use of point-of-use filters in homes. The project was initiated when Ms. Carma Lewis from the Flint Action Coordinating Team and Elizabeth Burtch from Genesee Health System reached out to Professors Nancy Love (University of Michigan) and Shawn McElmurry (Wayne State University) to request their help in creating a training module for use by community organizations to train community members on proper installation, maintenance, and replacement of point-of-use water filters.
To date, over 150 Flint residents have been trained on the methods needed to train community members on how to use point of use water filters.
University of Michigan and Wayne State University students are now collaborating with the Genessee County Health Department and the Genessee Health system to develop complementary video that extends beyond manufacturer videos, and to provide translations (Spanish, sign language) that give multi-lingual access to the materials.
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Co-Founder
Borchardt and Glysson Collegiate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Nancy G. Love is the Borchardt and Glysson Collegiate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. She previously served as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and as Associate Dean in the University of Michigan’s Rackham School of Graduate Studies. She previously taught at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Love’s research interests include water quality and environmental biotechnology. Specifically, she studies the fate of toxins and pharmaceuticals in wastewater, as well as the technologies that can be used to remove these chemical stressors.
Dr. Love holds a PhD in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson University (1994) and both a Masters of Science (1986) and a Bachelors of Science (1984) in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
+ Point of Use Water Filters: A Grassroots Train-the-Trainer Program
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wayne State University
Dr. Shawn P. McElmurry is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit. He received his PhD in Environmental Engineering from Michigan State University and is a licensed Professional Engineer. Since joining Wayne State he has received significant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Science Foundation (NSF), and State of Michigan and published more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. McElmurry teaches graduate and undergraduate courses focused on environmental engineering and water systems. His research aims to address fundamental gaps in understanding which inhibit sustainable development and adversely impact human health, with a special interest in water infrastructure. Recently, Dr. McElmurry’s work has focused on understanding the complex interactions between exposure to chemicals and pathogens in Flint’s municipal water system. He is co-leader of the Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership (FACHEP), a multi-institutional collaboration formed to evaluate associations between changes in Flint’s water system and adverse public health impacts. Building on lessons from Flint, Dr. McElmurry’s current focus is on how water and health systems learn and adapt to challenges, with the goal of enhanced system and community resilience.
+ Point of Use Water Filters: A Grassroots Train-the-Trainer Program