Flint’s and The Nation’s Aging Pipeline Infrastructure
In the wake of Flint’s water crisis it was realized that their aging pipeline infrastructure needed an extreme update. Flint is not the only CIKR catastrophe caused by being too tightly coupled, almost every community around the country has experienced some type of catastrophic infrastructure failure that has led to a “large-scale service interruptions, significant property damage, and human injury” as a result of being tightly coupled (Van Leuven, 2011, pp.40). A lot of the nation’s aging pipeline infrastructure is still in need of renovations or replacement because it has exceeded its planned operating life (Van Leuven, 2011, pp.40).
Matthew Dolan of the Detroit Free Press stated
…show more content…
The city officials were not very competent on the WWS. They believed that they could just save money by switch over a few things without fully investing the time in actually understanding how the WWS operates. Over a dozen lawsuits have been filed in local, state and Federal courts involving Flint residents who were directly impacted by the lead contaminated waters. The plaintiffs seek monetary compensations in the millions. One victim sought $100 million because they obtained Legionnaires’ disease, which they believed that they received from the contaminated water (Dixon, 2016). Others are suing an engineering company that was involved with the switching process of the water from the Detroit water system to the Flint River. It is believed that the engineering company knew that the water was dangerous without proper anti-corroding agent (Dixon, 2016). The remaining lawsuits seek everything else, which range from replacing the leaded pipeline infrastructure, medical and health compensation due to contamination, and also water bills (Dixon, 2016). The defendants ranged from state, local, and government officials including the Governor Rick Snyder.
How to address the problem The first thing that needs to be done is to hire competent state officials and emergency managers. The governor did not know the first thing about water nor did the people around him know as well. “Catastrophic failures often have resulted when central
However, Edward’s contract was not renewed after this complaint. (Paynter 94) Soon after, the Washington Post exposed this cover up to the public. (Paynter 94) As a result of this exposed story, the EPA advised people to flush their water lines. (Paynter 94) However, the EPA’s health advice “actually increased [lead] exposure” (Paynter 94) to the whole water line. Soon after, congressional investigations found that “hundreds, maybe thousands, of children had been affected [because] municipal authority in DC had disregarded test results for years” (Paynter 94). This catastrophe is almost similar to the situation that occurred in Flint. It was a result of government back tracking and ignoring common warning signs. However, this occurred during 2003, before the massive explosion of mobile devices and the Internet. There was little public response unlike the incident in Flint that occurred a decade later.
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.
For 50 years, Flint bought water from Detroit, which legitimately treated the water with orthophosphate, a concoction that basically covered the funnels as water moved through them, keeping lead from filtering into the water supply. This is what the procedure looked like at that point. Flint changed from Detroit's water supply to the Flint River in 2014, to a limited extent to spare cash. Be that as it may, the city did not utilize erosion control to keep lead from entering the water. The waterway itself was additionally found to contain eight times more chloride than Detroit's water, a compound that is profoundly destructive to metals. Most inhabitants in Flint have decades-old lead benefit lines that associate their homes to the city's primary water funnels. At the point when water from the stream coursed through those channels, it destroyed their inner parts, enabling lead to enter the supply. When Flint exchanged its water supply, most Flint inhabitants knew it quickly. Inhabitants depicted the water originating from their taps frequently as an earthy yellow and said it both noticed and tasted odd. It was later found that the water was conveying huge measures of lead, which can demonstrate particularly harming to youngsters. In October 2015, the city changed back to the Detroit water supply, yet Flint's water is still regarded risky to drink.
On December 3rd, 2015, the mayor of Flint, MI Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency because of the high levels of lead in the water supply. Two weeks later President Obama directed FEMA to help provide equipment and resources to the citizens affected, including providing bottled water and local water stations around the city. On March 21st, 2016, Governor Rick Snyder came out with an outline that addresses the agencies goal to help fix the crisis. It focused on providing professional support for children under 6 with elevated lead levels, replacing water fixtures in public facilities, replacing the city’s 8,000 lead service lines, and increasing resources for schools. (Michigan.gov. 2017). Through April to July 2016, nine state officials and employees face criminal
An attempt to save money by changing water sources by an indifferent government caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, negative health effects, and a total loss in faith in the government of Michigan. Although measures have been taken to mitigate these problems, their effects have already marred the city of Flint and its
The contamination began in April 2014 after the source of the town’s water supply was switched from Lake Huron to the Flint river in order to reduce governmental costs. This was done despite the fact that the Flint River had a strong history of pollution. Among this pollution included car parts, a dead body, and high levels of chemicals. (Semules par 5). Once the pipes were switched there were several complaints of the water having a foul smell and metallic taste (Foley par 4). In the beggining the government denied that anything was wrong despite the fact that lab examinations of the water proved otherwise. Two years after the Flint water crisis gained media attention, the Senate passed a bill that would provide Flint residents with water, but this is
The city of Flint is 70 miles away from the costs of the Great Lakes which hold the greatest sources of fresh water, yet there residents still can't get clean tap water. 15% of homes in Flint Michigan are boarded up ,40% of the people are in poverty , high unemployment rate, and consistently on a list for most dangerous places to live in the nation .In an attempt to cut budget cost in 2014 Flint stop getting pre treated water from the city of Detroit . Problems began when the city started using water from the Flint river .Flint River is 19 times more corrosive than Lake Huron (Detroit water source) . City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem by that time, supply pipes had sustained major corrosion and lead
The Flint water crisis has left no one from the damage, even the pets are getting sick of the poisoned water. That was what residents Lee and Ernie of Flint Michigan saw with their cat. Flint is a city in Michigan with a total population of approximately one hundred thousand residents. The issue with the water for Flints and its residents stated in 2014 when the city decided to switch from their water resource from the city of Detroit to a local river. Immediately after the switch residents filed complaints about the water’s smell and color. In Ryan Felton’s “Flint’s Water Crisis: What went wrong,” it is apparent that the crisis should not have happened, and that flint was neglected just because it was an impoverished city.
“Environmental racism is real…so real that even having the facts, having the documentation and having the information has never been enough to provide equal protection for people of color and poor people” “It takes longer for the response and it takes longer for the recovery in communities of color and low-income communities.” (Bullard, 1994:36)
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.
According to City Council meetings the switch would end up saving the region $200 million over a course of twenty-five years. While they were waiting on the Karegnondi Water Authority to hook up a pipeline they used the Flint River as a source of water. They had previously used the Flint River as its main water source until the 1960’s (Kennedy). Residents were concerned about the use of the Flint River, because of its unsafe history. Flint signed onto the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which uses Lake Huron, in 1967. The Flint Rivers water quality deteriorated the 1970’s because of the fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances found. In 2001, the state organized a cleanup of 134 polluted spots near the Flint River area. Industrial complexes, landfills and farms laden with pesticides and fertilizer were among the sites ordered to be cleaned up (CNN Library). By May people begin to notice the awful smell and color of the water. The complaints were ignored. Three months later E. coli and total coliform bacteria are found in the River. A boil order is put in place to help prevent the residents from being exposed to the bacteria. (Kennedy). The
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.
Clean drinking water is a necessity in everybody’s life. Many cities take for granted their seemingly infinite amount of water available to them but for Flint, Michigan residents, there is no such luxury. Many people in that area have been sickened or even killed with the water that is available to them. Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan should resign due to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan because his negligence may have long and short term effects on the health of the city’s residents. There is no excuse for how he is handling this; slowly, and ineffectively.
in Flint that have been exposed to the dangerous levels of lead in their water. The government
Flint is a recovering city. Arches that line “the bricks,” or the main street that runs through the downtown section, proudly proclaim it to be “Vehicle City,” but the Vehicle City took some of its hardest punches as GM shuttered their factories in the area. It is finding its footing though, redeveloping and rebuilding. Now however, Flint is going through another crisis. This is the Flint water crisis, where lead has leached out of the pipes and into the water supply. The water is considered unsafe to drink, with the worst of it being so contaminated that it is considered hazardous waste (Lurie). The governor and the emergency managers that he appointed to the city have taken most of the blame for the elevated lead levels. They have taken this blame because the laws designed to ensure the public’s health were undermined by a lack