Michigan Water Crisis

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

After her family fell ill she contacted Mark Edwards. After Edwards conducted research he found 133 times the EPA lead limit. (Paynter 96-97) The author wrote, “The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality told Waiters the Problem was likely inside her house only” (Paynter 97). This shows that the government avoided a serious problem by telling Walters that the problem was in her home. This is while her family fell very ill and the Department of Environmental Quality completely ignored her concerns. However, not only do the people of Flint believe that the government has been absent through this crisis; so does Hillary Clinton, the Democratic representative for this year’s presidential election. When asked about the water crisis in an interview with James Comey, Clinton states that, “[Snyder] acted as though he didn’t really care.” This shows that even other politicians are dumbfounded by Governor Snyder's actions towards this. This statement did not stop others politicians to attack Snyder. Senator of Vermont Bernie Sanders did not hold back. He went as far as calling for his resignation.

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 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

In December 2007, Mlive.com reported that the Flint Water Plant would reopen after 40 years to start delivering water from the Flint River to residents as a temporary fix to a bigger problem. This announcement came after city officials found that the 72-inch pipeline connecting Port Huron and Detroit, the usual provider of water, was in dire

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 switch to the Flint River was only supposed to be temporary and Snyder assured the public that all proper testing had been done on the water. The Flint river was the towns backup water source for many years but it was never needed because the

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 the article, “How Tap Water Became Toxic in Flint, Michigan,” the authors from CNN, Sara Ganim and Linh Tran, discussed about how Flint’s water became toxic after the state decided to switch their water supply source due to financial issues. The state switched their water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Moreover, after the switch, many residents began to notice a change in their water. For example, one of the residents expressed, “the water started to look, smell and taste funny..it often looked dirty..the water would come in brown..”(Ganim and Tran).

CNN student news article was about how to deal with the massive water crises in Flint. To save money the town switched their

Over the past few years, Flint, Michigan, has undergone a severe water crisis. The problem arose when the area’s water supply was changed to the Flint River. The problem, however, arose in the extreme amounts of lead in the water. While studies and tests were conducted by the government, no information was broadcast, and the general

which would supply water from Canada. The water pipes in the city of Flint were old and

Most of my life I thought Detroit was the worst city in Michigan and I thought it couldn’t possibly get much worse, until I watched the documentary ‘Flint Town’. Flint Town is a documentary on Netflix that follows the Flint Police Department and lets the officers and citizens of the community explain their undiscovered struggles and difficulties with decreasing resources, crumbling infrastructure, and of course the violence. Furthermore, they have faced a major water crisis caused by lead in the old pipes that supplies Flint their water. These things coupled together has found the city of Flint in a crisis.