BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech has been awarded a massive federal grant to help improve drinking water across the country.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1.9 million to Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University and Louisiana State University to detect and control lead in drinking water. Officials say the project is designed to increase public awareness of lead in water and plumbing.
The project is one of the largest citizen science engineering projects in U.S. history.
"This is really exciting. We hope that this will empower consumers and might usher in a new era where the EPA is more inclined to work directly with consumers," said Marc Edwards, a professor at Virginia Tech who is leading the project.
Edwards says the research will start in Michigan, Louisiana and with private well owners across the country.