Tap Water Contamination In Flint, Michigan

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

Water is the single most important commodity that every organism needs to survive. When astronomers look for other inhabitable planets, one of the primary features they look for is the presence of water. It would then logically be inferred that water is essential to modern human society, but as seen with the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, it seems that isn’t the case. Thousands of people have encountered serious health problems and millions of dollars in damages have occurred, and all of this has been a result an ignorant and irresponsible government switching water sources in an effort to save money. In doing so, the government of Michigan ultimately caused adverse and destructive effects on the city of Flint and its inhabitants.

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

I watch or read the news pretty regularly, but I only watch news which has the traits that I value most. The news to me isn’t about being entertained, it is about learning, in an unbiased, clear, and concise way. Other television shows can entertain, but the news should be reserved for information relevant to people’s everyday lives, allowing them to make informed decisions. I feel this way because I don’t like when a news source is pushing a hidden agenda. I look for a fair telling of both sides of the story. I also feel that because I stay relatively busy, I think it is insulting that the news would choose to waste my time with extraneous background information, off topic statements, or articles over 1,000 words. Most importantly though, It needs to be clear, if I can’t understand it, it’s the worst kind of news, no news. I have chosen three articles regarding the Flint Michigan water crisis to evaluate based on my criteria. One from CNN titled, “Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan, Draws Federal Investigation,” written by Greg Botelho, Sarah Jorgenson, & Joseph Netto, which focuses on the investigation but also background into the crisis. The next article I have chosen an article from the New York Times (NYT). This article titled, “As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints From Flint.” From the contributions of writers, Julia Bosman, Monica Davey, & Mitch Smith. I chose this article from other ones, because this article primarily focuses on politics like who

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.

Would you drink, and bathe in the water coming out of that tap? The word no is what every sensible human would say when seeing this orange colored liquid. Unfortunately, residents in Flint Michigan are having toxic water like that, running through their pipes and there is one major problem... It’s too late to fix it. How did this happen? How poisonous is the water and what are the effects of it?

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.

The people of Flint did not keep their mouths shut when they seen all the worrisome problems that popped up. Flint can thank one woman in particular for bringing the nation’s attention to what was happening. LeeAnne Walters is a thirty-seven year old mother of four who was not going to sit around while her family was withering away. She knew there was a serious problem not being dealt with in the summer of 2014. Her three-year-old twins got a rash when they had a bath. She could no longer leave them in the tub to soak. One of her twins had extreme reactions to the water. Gavin’s skin would become scaly and red where the water line stopped. Later her water turned brown and her family avoided tap water as much as possible. The twins got a bath in bottled water each week and bath with baby wipes the other days. Over time, the symptoms slowly disappeared (Lurie). Simple tasks like brushing their teeth, bathing, and cooking were incredibly complicated and expensive. Gavin and Garrett were not the only ones being affected. Her son had numerous trips to the hospital for abdominal pain, all the members of her family were losing hair, and at one point she lost her eyelashes. In January 2015, Flint declared that the city's water had dangerous levels of trihalomethanes. That came from the disinfectant that was supposed to treat the water. Exposure to these chemicals can cause liver, kidney, and nervous system

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

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 Michigan studies show there was a large amount of lead in the water , because of this high turbidity in the water witch means this water is dangerous.

The problem of water in flint arose when the city changed the source of the water from Detroit to the Flint River in order to save money. This issue had several negative consequences on Flint citizens. The majority of these consequences is serious health problems especially for the infants and old people. In order to figure out the causes of this water issue and who made the decisions that lead eventually to those dreadful unpleasant outcomes.

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.

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