The Importance Of Water In Flint

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 lead effects in the drinking water have caused a massive public health crisis (“Scientific Opinion on the risks”, 2015). The whole crisis was as a result of poor management practices employed in the Flint water plant. The city decided to switch the

An essential necessity for life is slowly killing residents in Michigan. The town of Flint, Michigan is slowly being poisoned by their water supply. Flint is 70 miles north of Detroit with a population of 98,310. According to the U.S. Census Bureau a little under half of residents live below the poverty line. More than fifty-five percent of the city’s population is African-American (CNN Library). The dangerous lead levels in the water went unnoticed for years, despite the residents’ complaints of discolored and foul-smelling water. The question at hand is how could this happen?

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

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

There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of

How would you feel if you’ve been poisoned and no one told you? Well that's what happened in Flint, Michigan during a change of water source it was discovered the water in the town has been contaminated for months with high amount of lead.

I read an article published by NPR about the water crisis still currently happening in Flint, Michigan. The article provides a timeline leading up to the crisis and the backlash it has created in the town. It starts off with Flint city officials deciding whether or not the town can save money by getting their water from another source. To do this they would build their own pipeline and it’s said it would save the town up to $200 million is 25 years. Despite saying the water was safe and clean to use, it still caused a lot of problems. Residents complained about how the water tasted and smelt bad, and General Motors refused to continue using the water because they feared it would cause corrosion and damage to their machines. And instead of testing

Her article, “Elevated Blood Levels in Children Associated with the Flint Drinking Water Crisis: A Spatial Analysis of Risk and Public Health Response,” describes the water issue revolving around Flint for decades. It has only recently begun to get better. Lead was found, as well as bacteria, in the Flint water (283-284). Mona wrote, “Increased lead poisoning rates have profound implications for the life course potential of an entire cohort of Flint children already rattled with toxic stress contributors (e.g, poverty, violence, unemployment, food insecurity)” (286). Mona also concluded that, “As in many urban areas with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage and minority populations, we found a preexisting disparity in lead poisoning” (286). Issues have been done to prevent the Flint crisis, and it has gone down over the past thirty years, however, “A once-celebrated cost-cutting move for an economically distressed city, the water source change has now wrought untold economic, population health, and geo-political burdens”(288). Much like the HDR’s theories, the Flint Water Crisis also appeals to the wealthy class. In any other community, primarily wealthy, money can be provided to prevent future water issues.

The Flint water crisis broke newsstands around September 2015. A town exposed to a poisonous level of lead from the drinking water. This was followed by previous problems they have experienced since the switch of water sources in 2014, to save money. The history of the Flint water crisis is complicated and made so by small governmental agencies. The trial for this tragedy is still on going because of the lack of clarity. (Lin) In my opinion Governor Snyder is part to blame.

Upon investigation of the Flint crisis, it turns out that the whole water crisis could’ve been avoided if the government decided to spend $100 a month in order to keep the lead

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night thirsty? Thirsty that you went to your sink to pour yourself a nice glass of water. Isn’t it nice to be able to trust your tap water? Unfortunately, the citizens of Flint, Michigan are not able to trust their tap. Residents have resorted to buying bottled water in replacement of all their water needs. Bottled water is even necessary for brushing their teeth. The problems in Flint began the summer 2012 when officials explored ways to save money. One idea was to switch the city’s water provider. At the time, Flint got their water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, DWSD, but they could build a pipe and switch to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA). The move “projected to save the region $200 million over the next 25 years” [4]. The plan was promising, and so Flint city officials began the process. The officials told DWSD that they would no longer be using their services, and the DWSD told Flint that in a year it would remove its services. However, DWSD cut the Flint’s water supply before they could build the pipe and switch to KWA [4]. This led to a need for a temporary water source. Flint officials decided that the Flint River would be the best location to provide the town with water during the transition.

Water is a finite resource. These techniques are not suitable for all arid regions, only some can work for some regions. For example, Western Sahara can use desalination, but it can’t use rainwater, because there is no rain there or groundwater exploitation. Desalination of water has become more available in the last decade, cost are falling rapidly, but it still costs more than extraction of groundwater due to the huge costs required to remove the salt, so that the water was fit for drinking and of its further use. Government in arid regions, when decide how to get and clean out water, now

The global problem in the world is that many countries don’t have enough water to survive each day. People around the world die because of the lack of water or because, they are born with severe water diseases, like Typhoid, which is a severe water disease that has caused many deaths in the world. In Sudan more than 40 people die a day because they have a water disease that has been in their system. Also, almost every day kids and women go search for water which decreases their chance of becoming smarter and having a better future. Another thing is that the water that they spend all day searching for isn’t even clean; it’s dirty. The water problem has affected so many countries including the USA. You may not think that there is a water problem in the United States but there is. Like in Flint, Michigan, there was a huge problem about how the water in flint was polluted and not good to drink.Some states are suffering because of it. Therefore, it is a big problem in the world today and it will affect our very own future because then we will have very little water and if we have very little water we will not be able to survive. In total, there is 19 countries involved in solving the Worldwide Water Crisis. This group consists of: Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, United States of America, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, France, Spain, The Netherlands, and Sudan. Therefore, there is 19 countries (in our group)