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Essay On The Quality Of Water

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On April 25, 2014 corrosive water was drawn from a local river and pumped into the water mains of Flint, Michigan. The grim financial affairs of the post-industrial city prompted the decision to switch the water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the local Flint River. The city’s water contract with the DWSD was set to expire in 2014 (Kennedy, 2016). The temporary water transfer was meant to save the city money, while a new water line to Lake Huron was under construction (Ganim & Tran, 2016). In 2013, the transfer decision was made by the Flint City Council (FCC) and state-appointed emergency manager Ed Kurtz (Fonger, 2015). Flint officials hired the Texas-based firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) to …show more content…

Despite complaints from residents and multiple scientific studies, officials in Michigan’s DEQ continued to deny and lie about the situation in Flint (Caton, 2016). Flint switched back to Detroit’s water supply (renamed the Great Lakes Water Authority), but the city’s eroded pipes continued to seep lead-contaminated water into Flint homes (Ganim & Tran, 2016). Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and President Obama declared a state of emergency in 2016 prompting federal aid to be administered to Flint (The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 2016). Despite plans to replace the city’s lead service lines, Flint’s water supply was still unsafe to use without filtration as of April 2016 (Kennedy, 2016).
The effects of the Flint Water Crisis on people consisted primarily of lead exposure and economic damages. Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s study revealed that Flint’s residents, particularly poor and minority populations, received significant lead exposure capable of impacting behavior, intelligence, and overall life achievement. Pregnant mothers and children were among those with disproportionate health impacts from lead exposure (Hanna-Attisha, LaChance, Sadler & Champney Schnepp, 2016). Flint resident Lee Anne Walters tested her water in February 2015, finding a lead content of 104 parts per billion (ppb) exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lead limit of 15 ppb nearly seven

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