The Flint River

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

Thesis: Georgia should be able to continue their withdrawals from Lake Lanier and the water basins because of their water supply needs for irrigating its crops in the south, flood control, and sustaining its rapidly growing population in the metro Atlanta area.

When you think about the pinnacle city, the turning point in the Industrial Revolution, Flint, Michigan comes to mind. It was a city that perfectly encapsulated the American Dream and set the standard for the working class in America. Flint, Michigan was home to General Motors and at one point they were the driving force of the economy. However, that success was fleeting due to globalization and with many competing companies outsourcing, GM had to make many tough decisions that ultimately led to its downsize. When GM left Flint, the city was devastated and it’s exit contributed to the poverty we see now. The post-industrial era not only left the city in despair, but also left many things in questions, such as the large amounts of lead used during that era that has thus left the city more vulnerable. The current crisis in Flint is able to portray the damages of this ‘industrial legacy’ that has now affected their water. The Flint water crisis could have been avoided had they properly assessed the situation and went in with the proper tools. Just how they were able to assess and adjust laws to save people during the industrial revolution, Flint needs to implement the same changes. This case is able to illustrate the ways in which race and socioeconomic status intersect with one 's insurance to uphold human rights and environmental health.

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

Flint town is a small town in Michigan. Flint was a prosperous town when it had many General Motor workers. The General Motor factories made most of the people who lived in Flint middle-class citizens (Canepari, et al). They made about making about $80,000 a year. After General Motors shut down all of their factories in Flint, most of the people lost their jobs. This put Flint into major poverty and increased their crime rate (Canepari, et al).

The water wars are between Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The main conflict in the water war is Atlanta city officials don’t want the US Army Corps of Engineers to lower the water flow to the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee serves to irrigate over 700,000 crops and provide water power to a nuclear power plant in Alabama that generates most of the electricity for Alabama (Pittman). Apalachicola River is the largest flowing river in Florida and it helps determine the health of the Apalachicola Bay’s multimillion dollar seafood industry (Pittman). The Apalachicola also helps keep a balance of

First settled in 1819 and later incorporated in 1855, the City of Flint is a municipal corporation.  The City of Flint provides vital public services to citizens and business.  The City of Flint provides fire, police, sewer and water among other services.  The City of Flint mission statement emphasizes providing services in a customer friendly and fiscally responsible manner.

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 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

At Flint Ridge State Park you can find craters in the ground which were dug for the flint found in the area. Flint Ridge isn’t just a small area it runs from National rd. to the west Appalachian Mountains and all the way South to Florida, as well as running North to Maine. If you go to Flint Ridge and dig in the pits or anywhere in the area for that matter you may find dead Indians or arrowheads that were made by Indians and used for fighting here or getting food. Some of the flint found here is black in color and is not from Flint Ridge. This flint is called Upper Mercer Flint and it is from the Coshocton area. There are many reasons for the different kinds of flint but the best known is that all of the flint on Flint Ridge was brought in by the latest glacier between 11,400 and 12,000 years ago and is so colorful because it is made from flint from here to the Rocky Mountains, and the black flint in the Coshocton area, Upper Mercer, is flint strictly from the Ohio area. All flint is found on the ridges from where it was pushed up by the glacier and not nearly as much at the bottom because that is where all of the heavier rocks

From what you now know about the Flint, Michigan water crisis, write a minimum of 2 paragraphs capturing the following information:

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).

It all started when Flint officials turned off the flow of already-treated Lake Huron water from the city of Detroit and started treating their own raw water from the Flint River instead. However, changing the source of the water was supposed to be a temporary solution, because the Genesee country, where