Flint schools are finally getting the help they need to provide safe water fountains for their students.
Flint Community Schools thanked billionaire Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation last week for donating money to install new water fountains with filtration systems at all its schools.
Lead and other toxins were found to be tainting Flint's water supply four years ago, in what's been called the Flint water crisis. Since then, the community has struggled with water contamination problems.
"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. "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."
Flint schools will install new ultraviolet water filtration systems for all its water fountains in school buildings thanks to the $480,350 donation, according to the city of Flint.
The former Tesla CEO responded to the school's announcement on Twitter. "You're most welcome. Hope to do more to help in the future," he wrote.
Musk first promised to help Flint in a tweet back in July. "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," he wrote at the time.
The new fountains and filtration systems will be installed in all 12 Flint schools and the district's administration building by the end of January 2019.
"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 said in a press release on October 5.
