A new, Google-funded app aims to help residents and government agencies in Flint, Michigan, manage the ongoing water crisis there.
Developed by University of Michigan computer science researchers with a $150,000 grant from Google's charitable arm Google.org, the Mywater-Flint app shows where lead has been found in the drinking water, and where people can get clean water and filters, the school announced on Thursday.
It also offers step-by-step instructions for water testing as well as other tools to help people determine the likelihood that the water in a home or another location is contaminated. Those who download the app can also see where line service workers have already replaced infrastructure that connects homes to the water main and where they're currently working.
Mywater-Flint is available for Android devices and online at Mywater-flint.com. At this point, only about a third of the city's residents have had their water tested, according to a news release from the University of Michigan.
"It's not an easy thing to do," Mark Allison, assistant professor of computer science at UM-Flint and a Flint resident, said of getting water tested. "You have to go downtown and pick up a special bottle, and then you have to go drop it off somewhere and the testing process itself is complicated. You can't just use any pipe in the house. The app tells you how to test it and exactly where test kits are available."
The researchers say all homes in Flint "have some level of risk," but the app can predict which ones are most affected based on things like "the age of the property, its location, value, and size" in combination with publicly available data from state agencies and nonprofits.
"It's an independent platform that gives people information they need and want to know as they navigate this complex situation," Jake Abernethy, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at UM-Ann Arbor said in a statement.
[Image: Evan Dougherty]