A Brief Note On The Flint Water Crisis

Who knew that Flints water could be deadly? Everyone should be allowed to have the same clean water to bathe in, drink, cook with, and to have fun in. Unfortunately, residents in Flint could not do this for quite some time. These residents were bathing and drinking from this water before the founding of high lead levels in it. Not only was it because of the high lead levels, but the pipes were very old as well. Due to actions made by the city council this caused a lot of problems for the residents in the city of Flint. This effected children, pregnant women, and the elderly the most. Many lawsuits were filed against the city of Flint. It was so serious to the point that Governor Snyder had to declare a state of emergency. This took place January 5th of 2016. High levels of lead in the water and old pipes lead to lawsuits, the sickness of Flint residents, and the city of Flint not doing their job.

The current water crisis in Flint, Michigan stems from government officials changing water sources. The government of Flint switched from using the water of Lake Huron, which they had used for over 50 years, to using the water of the Flint River, which had a high level of chloride. The high chloride level eventually led to the corrosion of water pipes allowing unhealthy levels of chlorine and lead contamination. Additionally, irresponsible and unreliable water treatment allowed even more contaminates to enter the city’s water source. All this pollution ultimately ended up in the homes of thousands of people, poisoning families throughout the city. Lead poisoning can have disastrous effects on the human body, with some symptoms including “memory loss, anemia (lack of healthy red blood cells), kidney dysfunction, and in severe

Flint in Michigan is located 70 Miles away from the shores of large fresh water bodies, the Great Lakes. Despite this close proximity to the fresh water bodies, the residents have not been able to get the clean water. The water supply of Flint in Michigan in the United States has undergone serious water contamination crisis. The water crisis started in April 2014 (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, 2016). The contamination of drinking water began when the source of water was changed from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River. This later led to a serious contamination of the water due to lead contamination hence creating more danger in the public health. The Flint River had a corrosive nature and caused lead from the old pipes to leach into the water supply. This caused heavy metals in the water supply. This posed serious health problems. For example, six thousand to twelve thousand children were exposed to the contaminated water. The blood-lead level in children increased. The alteration in the water source was the main reason behind the water crisis in Flint.

An essential necessity for life is slowly killing residents in Michigan. The town of Flint, Michigan is slowly being poisoned by their water supply. Flint is 70 miles north of Detroit with a population of 98,310. According to the U.S. Census Bureau a little under half of residents live below the poverty line. More than fifty-five percent of the city’s population is African-American (CNN Library). The dangerous lead levels in the water went unnoticed for years, despite the residents’ complaints of discolored and foul-smelling water. The question at hand is how could this happen?

The Flint water crisis is an issue that has been plaguing the state of Michigan for over two years and has no feasible end in sight. The neglect of various government officials and employees has culminated in a public health danger for thousands of Michigan residents, by way of consumption of water with high levels of lead. Though the individuals deemed responsible for this deplorable situation have lost or resigned from their positions, and some criminal charges have been brought about, there is still a lot that has to be done to try and repair the damage that they did.

The article, “Lead Levels Remain High in Flint’s Water” by Matt Davenport explores the increased lead contamination in the Flint, Michigan water source. In April of 2014, high levels of bacteria, and fecal matter were detected in the water of Flint, Michigan. While the levels of bacteria decreased, the city’s water still breaks the federal rule for lead levels. A series of tests conducted by Marc A. Edwards was able to show that the city’s contaminated water was corroding pipes, which leached lead into the water. Because Edwards was able to inform the public about the contaminated water source, Michigan officials have taken steps to improve Flint’s water quality. For example, the water-pipes were re-routed to carry water from Detroit instead

In April of 2014 Flint, Michigan started to get their water from the Flint River rather than the Detroit river that was formerly used as the main water source in hopes of saving money. The water being provided has been classified by Flint residents as smelly and murky and is avoided at all costs. It has also been discovered to cause damage to the lead pipes that transported it throughout the city. Children have been found to have high levels of lead in their blood and this may be the cause of an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease which has killed 10 people in the Flint area. People have also reported rashes from the dirty water. Video news interviews show residents holding water that is

In Flint Michigan studies show there was a large amount of lead in the water , because of this high turbidity in the water witch means this water is dangerous.

In the article “It’s All Just Poison Now”, Oliver Laughland and Ryan Felton discuss how the lives of the residents of Flint, Michigan have been negatively affected by the city’s tainted water supply. Flint’s aging lead pipes, coupled with its corrosive water sources, have cause a number of contaminants to seep into the water supply. On top of this, the city’s water supply is inadequately purified, which caused many residents to be exposed to these toxins. The main concern to residents is the presence of poisonous lead in the water, which can be deadly even in low amounts. The community of Flint has been unknowingly drinking and bathing in these chemicals, despite being told by city officials that the water was safe. As a result, many residents

When people who lived in the city say they realized something was wrong the big guys kept saying there was nothing wrong and put it off for a whole month. President Obama had to claim a federal state of emergency on Flint, Michigan in 2014 because of the water that has been polluted by toxins and lead, but by the time the city officials realized something was wrong the pipes were already in too much damage (Kennedy/ npr). The City of flint is forty percent poor African American people, and this has put them in a giant crisis and when everything went down the people of Flint, Michigan went on strike (Kennedy/ npr). The polluted water was not fixed until April 6, 2018, this crisis lasted over four

How would you feel if you’ve been poisoned and no one told you? Well that's what happened in Flint, Michigan during a change of water source it was discovered the water in the town has been contaminated for months with high amount of lead.

The inaccessibility of clean water has burdened Flint Michigan in recent years; however it is not algal bloom or overflowing sewers that has contaminated local water sources, rather it is highly corrosive water that destroyed old lead pipes. Flint, Michigan is located a little over an hour north of the lively city of Detroit. Flint’s population totals around 100,000 citizens. This city has attracted nationwide attention, in the last few years, as economic despair and widespread water contamination continues to burden the suburb to this day. Economic tension in Flint surfaced in 2011, when the state’s auditing determined that Flint was buried by economic ruin: precisely a $25 million deficit. As a result, in April of 2015, the water supply

The government decision and policies, are the national guard has handled a water bottle and water filter has been distributed. The author Delaney said the problem came from when the Flint government pull the city’s water from the Flint River instead of buying it from Detroit's system. Flint resident start to complain after they have Flint River water that the water facet was brown; and it was tested bad ,and caused rashes when they took a shower.The CDC final report says that “ there is scant scientific evidence to suggest a direct connection between lead in drinking water and lead absorption into the body”. Regarding to the Washington Post Health and science article said wrote month after the Flint whater's crisis The Environments Protection Agency ( EPA) intervention, the agency used it;s emergency powers to demand action by the state and the city. It;s regional leader, Susan Hedman resigned. State and federal investigation are underway, and there have been calls for Snyder to resign. Snyder apologized twice and "precedent Obama has weighed in, too, sharply criticizing the pace of Mishigan's response. But none of that can help repair the deep of people trust in their government.

Furthermore, most of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead and since the water wasn't properly treated, lead began leaching into the water supply, in addition to the iron. Generally, more than a dozen lawsuits, including several additional class-action suits, were filed against Michigan and the city of Flint, as well as various state and city officials and employees involved in the decision to switch the source of the drinking water and those responsible for monitoring water quality. The range of remedies sought included financial compensation for lead poisoning and refunds for water bills. The state environmental authority in Michigan kept assuring that most of the water samples in Flint were below concerning lead levels which means that it’s safe to drink despite the foul odor and appearance and the way it seemed to be making people very sick. Most of the people that live there are convinced that whatever the government tries to do to make water upgrades, the water will never be acceptable

Two years ago the water supply for the city of Flint was changed from Lake Huron to the Flint River to cut costs. The problem was that the Flint river is highly contaminated. The people of Flint have been ingesting contaminated water that is high in lead content for two years. For children, this is especially damaging as lead impacts the developing brain.