Flint Michigan Water Crisis

I have had a few customers ask me about the Flint Michigan water crisis…I have been reading a bit about this and this is what I have concluded…
Flint, in an effort to save money in its City budget, stopped getting water from Detroit, and instead obtained its water from the local Flint River. The river met Federal clean water standards. What Flint did not realize was that the water in the Flint River, because of the soils it went through, had a Ph of 5.8 to 6.2 (depending on the time of year and runoff). This very slightly acidic Ph water dissolved the lead in Flints older piping, thus raising the lead content in the water to hazardous levels. 
The reason the City needed to save money was to pay the retirement Benifits negotiated with its City Employee unions.
Now the Michigan State Governor must fix it.
The bigger question for us is, could this happen in the Lowcountry?  
It’s doubtful even though Charleston still has lead pipes…I have seen them with my own eyes in Downtown Charleston…what keeps them from leaching lead is non-acidic water, which the Water sources utilized by Charleston have.
Why do they use lead pipes? Lead dates back thousands of years as a cheap plumbing material…it seals pipes and makes flexible joints that, in the old days, would have been unfeasible…Why not replace them? If they started today, it would take years to complete and many streets would have to be disturbed…it can be done, but at a huge price. The general consensus is to replace only as needed. Sometimes municipalities have lost track of where the pipes even are! Certainly it is a tough fix!
The good news is that if you are on a well, you are a 1000 times safer from lead contamination, as long as you test your water and it shows negative results…wells usually don’t shift in pH levels that rapidly.  
Lead was occasionally used in construction of water wells dating back 50-75 years, but if your well is more modern, you should have no worries…
Older plumbing may contain lead also…anything prior to @1990 could have some lead in the solder. If you have plastic plumbing, you should be ok.
Take responsibility for the water you drink, don’t just assume the “Guvmint gonna fix it”…our Government is broken and not fixable any time soon- keep that in mind.
My water in my personal home is 100% pure (Reverse Osmosis) and has calcium added to prevent corrosion of metals in my plumbing. My fixed costs are @ $1.00 per 1000 gallons and my RO concentrate is now being used to flush toilets creating less waste than in years past.
We hope you will take an interest in what kind of water you consume also.
As I speak, my local government is conspiring with the Feds to fund longer water lines and force well owners to abandon their wells…Mandatory hookup to municipal water supply should be illegal in SC, just like in Georgia, but as of yet, it is not. If it were up to me, the Federal Mandate to force municipal hookups would be eliminated from SC, and I am actively pursuing that cause through the South Carolina Ground Water Association of which I currently am the Vice President.
You can bet Flint Michigan Water problems will be cited for years to come when people decide to treat their water…but if we get anything positive out of this, it will be highlighting the need for treatment of drinking water everywhere…