Flint Population Problem

Before the water crisis, Flint was receiving water from Detroit’s water pipes which gave out very healthy water. Detroit had enough water to share with other cities. Doing this was not free though and it was not very cheap. Flint had to pay Detroit in order to use the water. After so long, Detroit’s water system had begun to cost too much for Flint. Flint then switched to another water system. The Flint city council voted to switch their supply of water from Detroit to the Karegnondi Water

According to Data USA, the population of Flint Michigan in 2014 was 99,802. 41.2% of the population in Flint, MI live below the poverty line, a number that high higher than the national average of 14.7%. Households in Flint, have a median annual income of $24,862 which is less than the median annual income in the United States. 61.1% of the population is black or African American. (Data USA, 2015). A third of the population live in poverty and a sixth of the houses are even abandoned. Flint River, Flint Michigan’s primary water source has been known to be of poor quality, having a history of contamination from fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plants nutrients, and toxic substances. In 2001 there was 134 state ordered

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.

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.

For Flint, it all began with debt. But you cannot blame a debt that has been developing over the years even though it led to major health concerns, hurt the already poor economy and left thousands with nothing but fear. Flint Michigan was an up incoming town back in the eighties. General Motors had its largest plant (at the time) in Flint and this plant brought much of the population while helping the economy grow. GM created many employment opportunities for Flint residents until they began to downsize in the late eighties. This is when the debt began to grow. GM held much of the economy at this time so the downsizing impacted everyone in Flint. As GM downsized the poverty rates increased, Flint’s government began looking for ways to make up the lost money. In 2011, Flint was 25 million dollars in debt and desperately looking for ways to reduce it (Dixon). The city of Flint was now under a state of emergency and people began asking questions. Governor Rick Snyder made the decision with his appointed members to switch Flint’s water supply from the Detroit Water System to Flint’s own river that ran through town. This switch was supposed to save the city of Flint nearly a hundred million dollars however, it did much more than that.

In April of 2014 due to financial reasons Flint’s water supply source was temporarily switched from the Detroit system to the Flint River. (CNN 2). The water was then found highly corrosive. The Department of Environmental Quality did not treat the corrosion going against federal law. When Flint switched their water supply back to Lake Huron in October it was already too late. The corrosive water made the

Flint Water Crisis, independent professionals reported testing the drinking water and what was found that there is lead and it was leaching into the main water supply. Contaminated water with lead and iron may be the most intense image of environmental and social injustice. Flint, Michigan, is amongst the poorest in the U.S. and majority African American, since 2014(npr.org 2016). The citizens of Flint had been complaining that their tap water was foul and discolored and had an odd taste. Nonetheless city, state, and federal officials ignored the issue. It has been stated that by changing the Flint water pipeline back to Lake Huron will not rectify the damage, investigators and many researchers believe that it may not be possible to ever undo

Back in April 2014, Flint Michigan, switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The government believed that this would be a great idea, because by them making this big switch they begin to start saving a lot of money. The new water that they now use is very polluted. This is the water that each and every person in Flint depends on to drink, cook with and to also bathe in. A lot of people have been affected by this change in water supply. As things begin to worsen the people in Flint, started to hear and become very familiar to lead poisoning. A significant amount of their victims have fallen victim to to being affected by the contaminated water, that everyone has been using. Doctors have noticed that the amount of lead found

There are two sides to this story, the government of Flint, MI and the people who reside

Taking a closer look at this chart, there are questions on what the people of Flint believe what level of Government could be at

McKenna Moore’s article, “High Lead Poisoning Rates Among Children in Syracuse”, focuses on how the poor people of color residing in Syracuse, New York are affected by lead poisoning. The article mentions a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, that states that around 3% of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning nationally. However, in Onondaga County, New York, where Syracuse is located, around 6% of the children who were tested have elevated blood lead levels. In Syracuse alone, around 12% of the children tested had elevated blood lead levels. While lead poisoning can affect anyone, regardless of color or socioeconomic status, poor people of color are more likely to be affected. According to data gathered by The Century Foundation, the highest concentration of poverty in Syracuse is amongst black people and Hispanics. This makes them the most vulnerable to being exposed to lead in

Even so, the people of Flint are dealing with other issues, like health. In fact, the number of kids lead in their blood has doubled ever since tat switch. And this is something to worry about since that young children are still developing. The side effects are lower IQ, issues in behaviour and delays in development. Health workers are trying their best to lower the effect. They are educating their parents to feed their kids a good diet.