Clean Water Is Imperative For Survival

In a bid to curb the heavy metals such as lead from reaching the resident’s drinking water, the city’s water treatment plants should modify its water’s chemistry. This is done in order to lower its capability of corroding the pipes through a process known as corrosion control. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will ensure that Flint City has a corrosion control program established. The new water supply being put in place should have the corrosion control plan to ensure that they are not conducting an uncontrolled human experiment on a city’s

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

All the inhabitants of Flint communities regardless of their location had irreversible, permanent brain damage due to lead-contaminated water. It started when traces of E. coli and total coliform were found in the Flint River. The city addressed this problem by increasing chlorine levels in the water, causing the pipes to corrode, releasing lead into the waters. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) were also formed in the water (they are carcinogenic to humans).TTHM is a disinfection byproduct that occur when chlorine interacts with organic matter in the water. At this stage, The lead levels in the water was 13,200 ppb. Water is considered hazardous waste at 5,000ppb (NPR 2016). This tragedy goes to show that this toxic runoff, or even the miss-handling of the water resources in a watershed can affect everyone as the downstream water was piped up into the upstream communities.

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 lead effects in the drinking water have caused a massive public health crisis (“Scientific Opinion on the risks”, 2015). The whole crisis was as a result of poor management practices employed in the Flint water plant. The city decided to switch the

In January of 2015, Flint was found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act after disinfection byproducts were detected at alarming rates (NPR, 2016). Water was somehow still deemed safe for consumption, as the city was very passive in its advisories. Although E. coli, coliform bacteria, and disinfection byproducts were very serious and harmful substances found in the water supply, they would not be the main issue.

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

Many service lines leading into homes are leaching lead into the water. This problem happened because the city of Flint decided to not treat the water properly with corrosion control (Ganrin, 2016). This proves that officials did not care about those living in Flint. They chose to save money but instead they destroyed many lives. So this proves that our government is not there to help the people out, but instead to cut money wherever they feel necessary to not have to take it from other places. Lead poisoning can affect IQ and behavior. This can cause some people to become score low on standardized test and to become violent and to sometimes harm others. No level of lead is ever safe in any person or animal (Ganrin, 2016). The water source in Flint is currently undrinkable and very unsafe and will continue to be for months ahead ("Researcher: Flint water 'like Russian roulette'," 2016). Flint water is not a safe water source and has not been for many months. According to federal regulations Flint's water supply still does not meet standards. Since August 2015 the water supply has improved, but it still is not safe ("Researcher: Flint water 'like Russian roulette'," 2016). The people of Flint have been poisoned under their noses without even knowing it, secretly being sickened by their own government. Flint’s water is not safe it's an unreliable water

However, rather than try to deal with the problems that were being brought to the government’s attention, the Snyder administration covered up the problems and discredited the scientists or doctors that tried to warn people of the problems. There have been multiple credible studies involving Flint’s water crisis. For example, a doctor performed blood tests on children in the Flint area and uncovered a significant increase in the number of children who had increased levels of lead in their blood. She immediately brought her findings to the attention of various agencies in the Snyder Administration but she was largely ignored. Another researcher came to Flint to get a sample of water; he placed a nail in the water and after a week the nail began to rust immediately. He brought his document and proof to the Governor administration and this person, yet again, was discredited and marginalized. Meanwhile, one of the largest manufacturing companies in the world, whose Flint manufacturing plant refused to use the water because it caused engine parts to corrode. Despite many examples of significant problems with the water in Flint, Governor Snyder dismissed the problem until children were being diagnosed with lead poison that when he figured it was time to address the

To begin with, the problem was the water contained elevated levels of iron and lead. The problem was such a huge issue because it affected every resident in Flint. Water is a major essential to one’s daily life and dozens of families were using the water supply for several purposes such as showering, drinking, cooking, washing one’s car or home, and watering plants. Furthermore, worried parents are going to the doctor because of rashes and hair loss, it also affected children by dropping their IQ, affecting their behavior, and it has also been inked to criminality and has multigenerational impacts. As a result, the fault of the problem lies with the state DEQ. It was said that the state ignored federal law and didn’t use an anti-corrosive agent to treat the water.

The problem in Flint, Michigan was the residents came to the conclusion that iron found its way into their water supply and people began to panic at the sight of brownish water. In fear they went to city officials and to city police to figure out the problem. They receive all their tap water from the Flint River which is highly corrosive and the Department of Environmental quality was not treating the water with an anti-corrosion agent.

coli was also found in the town’s water supply and residents were advised to to boil their water before using it. Because of extremely unsafe and tainted water, Flint was found to have violated the Safe Water Drinking Act. In February of 2015, the water has been found containing high amounts of lead, “...with a lead content of 104 parts per billion. Fifteen parts per billion is the limit for lead in drinking water." Residents start to complain of lead poisoning and many fall sick. The water now being considered “hazardous waste.” Despite being told this, officials deny that there is anything wrong with the water and insist that a standard water filter makes the water safe to use. Karen Weaver, mayor of Flint, declares a state of emergency. President Barack Obama chimes in and also declares a state of emergency and FEMA is sent in as well as Federal funding to pay for clean water supplies. Criminal charges are filed against three officials: Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby, and Michael Glasgow. The three are charged with misconduct, neglect of duty and conspiracy to tamper with evidence, and have been charged with violating Michigan's Safe Drinking Water Act. An additional six officials are later charged, as well as two corporations who were in charge of water quality

The poor water that is flowing into the homes and business in Flint, Michigan has struck headlines for the past couple of months. The water has been reported tot contain extremely high levels of lead. These high levels of lead are extremely unhealthy and are harmful not only to those that are currently coming across. This water but also for their future generations. Although turning to the Flint river in theory will save the city money, the idea has taken a turn and the city is forced to suffer.