Flint’s water has met federal safety standards for lead since 2016, and as of early 2026, the city has been in compliance with lead testing requirements for 10 consecutive years. Nearly 11,000 lead service lines have been replaced, bringing the city to roughly 98 percent completion. By the standards regulators use to judge a water system, Flint’s water is no longer dangerous. But around 500 lead service lines still need replacement, and the health consequences of the crisis are still unfolding for tens of thousands of residents.
Where Flint’s Water Comes From Now
The crisis began in 2014 when the city switched its water source from treated Lake Huron water to the Flint River without proper corrosion control. That allowed lead to leach from aging pipes into the drinking supply. In October 2015, Flint switched back to treated Lake Huron water and began adding a phosphate-based corrosion inhibitor, a chemical that coats the inside of pipes and prevents lead from dissolving into the water. When initial results still showed elevated lead in some homes, the concentration of the corrosion inhibitor was increased in December 2015.
Flint continues to receive its water from the Great Lakes Water Authority, drawing from Lake Huron. Corrosion control treatment remains in place throughout the distribution system.
How Much Lead Pipe Remains
In July 2025, the city confirmed that all lead service lines covered by a federal court settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council had been replaced, totaling nearly 11,000 lines. That accounts for about 98 percent of the residential lead service lines in the city. The remaining roughly 500 lines still needing replacement fall into two categories: homeowners who previously opted out of the replacement program, and lines discovered during a citywide inventory of pipe materials completed in late 2024.
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is still working with Flint to finish these final replacements. For residents in those roughly 500 homes, there is still a direct pathway for lead to enter their drinking water, even with corrosion control chemicals in the system. The state recommends that anyone unsure about their service line material use a certified water filter, which is effective at removing lead when properly maintained.
What Testing Shows
Flint has been in compliance with federal lead standards for a full decade. Under the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule, cities must test water at a sample of high-risk homes. If lead levels at the 90th percentile (meaning 90 percent of tested homes fall below this number) exceed 15 parts per billion, the city must take additional action. Flint has stayed below that threshold since 2016.
That said, compliance at the city level doesn’t guarantee every individual home is lead-free. Older fixtures, internal plumbing, and solder joints inside a home can contribute lead even after the service line connecting the house to the water main has been replaced. The state still posts test results publicly and encourages residents to request individual home testing. If a home tests above 100 parts per billion, state agencies will inspect for lead sources and consult with the homeowner on reducing exposure.
The Legionella Question
Lead wasn’t the only contaminant during the crisis. The switch to Flint River water also reduced chlorine levels in the system, creating conditions favorable to bacterial growth. Between 2014 and 2015, the county recorded 91 cases of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by waterborne bacteria, resulting in 14 deaths. The outbreak ended in late 2015 after the water source was switched back and disinfection improved.
Research conducted in 2017 and 2018 found that Flint’s municipal water still showed higher levels of certain pathogens compared to control homes in Detroit, even two years after the source switch. Current routine monitoring is in place, and the Legionella outbreak has not recurred, but the finding illustrates how long it can take a damaged water system to fully recover.
Health Effects Are Still Emerging
Even if the water itself now tests within safe limits, the damage from the crisis years is far from over. The Flint Registry, which tracks the health of more than 21,000 people affected by the crisis, paints a sobering picture, particularly for children who were young during the exposure period.
As of early 2024, 17 percent of children in the registry had been diagnosed with a learning disability, 15 percent with a speech or language disorder, and 14 percent with a developmental delay. Anxiety diagnoses among Flint children stood at 15 percent, compared to a national rate of about 9.4 percent for kids of similar ages. Depression diagnoses were at 10 percent, more than double the national rate of 4.4 percent. Almost half of parents enrolled in the registry reported their children were living with behavioral problems, including attention issues, aggression, hyperactivity, and difficulty adapting. More than 20 percent of children in the registry have special education or early intervention plans.
Math test scores dropped for third through eighth graders across Flint following the crisis, and the number of students requiring special education services rose by eight percent. Lead damages the central nervous system, affecting cognition, learning, and attention in ways that can persist long after the exposure stops. Researchers tracking these children have noted that the full health effects likely won’t be clear for another 10 to 15 years.
Adults have not been spared. Rates of depression among Flint residents exceed national averages. Lead exposure before or during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth, miscarriage, and low birth weight, meaning the crisis may have affected children who weren’t yet born when it began.
What This Means for Residents Today
If you live in Flint and your lead service line has been replaced, your water is likely as safe as water in most American cities, assuming your home’s internal plumbing doesn’t contain lead fixtures or solder. Using a certified filter adds an extra layer of protection and is still encouraged by the state, especially for households with young children or pregnant women.
If you’re among the roughly 500 households with a lead service line still in place, using a filter isn’t optional in any practical sense. These filters need to be replaced on schedule to remain effective. You can request a home water test through the state’s Flint water program and access results for your area online through Michigan’s public reporting system.
The short answer to whether Flint’s water is “still bad” depends on what you mean. The water coming out of the treatment plant meets federal standards and has for years. The vast majority of lead pipes connecting homes to the main system are gone. But a small number of homes remain at risk, the health toll on a generation of children is still growing, and trust in the system, once broken this completely, takes longer to rebuild than any pipe.