Los Angeles, CA USA

In partnership with UCLA's Samueli School of Engineering

What if the residents of Flint and other communities had the ability to monitor the safety of their water instead of relying on the city? Could the water crisis, the fatalities, and the long-term health effects on the city’s children have been prevented?

The water crisis in Flint fueled increased coverage of the dangers of high levels of drinking water contamination, which can cause lasting health issues - especially in young children. Exposure to lead can seriously harm a child's health, including damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems. In addition to high levels of lead, water systems in the US are contaminated with unsafe levels of other toxins including arsenic, copper, iron, chromium, nitrates, and e-coli bacteria.

In the US, race remains a predictor of water safety. The NRDC reports “Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population still drinks water from unsafe systems, and communities of color face an increased risk of exposure to unsafe water”. 

With support from 501CTHREE, UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering is developing a first of its kind, low-cost water monitoring system that can be deployed into at-risk communities. The system will collect real-time data on changes to water quality and safety. Our expectation is that the technology can detect eight of the ten most dangerous contaminants regularly found in drinking water, including lead, copper, and microbial contamination. From the combination of inexpensive and robust pH, EC, DO, and ORP sensors we can derive other meaningful water quality parameters.