Researchers from Virginia Tech tested the water independently. Governor Snyder seemed to signal the all-clear in April 2018 when he announced that the city would stop providing bottled water to residents. But in the 1980s and 1990s, as the plants began to shut down and jobs disappeared, most of its residents left the town. Flint, city, seat (1836) of Genesee county, eastern Michigan, U.S.It lies along the Flint River, 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit.It originated in 1819 as a trading post opened by Jacob Smith. The city's economic decline began during the 1980s, when GM downsized. They should test the water before they use any of it. The FAST Start program implemented by the city in March 2016 is working to replace the thousands of lead and galvanized steel service lines that connect Flint water mains to city homes by 2020. Residents of cities like Pittsburgh and Newark continue to face high levels of this toxic metal in their drinking water supplies. Fortunately, a majority of Americans have access to safe water, a luxury most of us probably enjoy with little thought. One of the few bright spots of the Flint water crisis was the response of everyday citizens who, faced with the failure of city, state, and federal agencies to protect them, united to force the government to do its job. Why didn't they stop giving people the water if they know that it was dirty lead water. It rose a GM company town, home to scores of car plants in the area over the decades. A sheriff in Michigan took off his helmet and marched with protesters over the death of George Floyd last week. Although it was once a thriving industrial centre, the city of Flint in souteastern Michigan A story of environmental injustice and bad decision making, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, began in 2014, when the city switched its drinking water … The federal action level for lead is not a health-based number; it merely is an administrative trigger for remediation by the water utility. I bet my state (Florida) wouldn't do that. What Happened in Flint? That is so disgusting. Laid out beginning in 1830 and named for the river (which the Native Americans called Pawanunking, “River of Flint”), the settlement progressed as a fur-trading, lumbering, and agricultural centre. It was at this juncture that local authorities were forced to look for ways to cuts costs and meet their budgets. Flint authorities decided to switch their water source to their own backyard -- the Flint River. As the highly corrosive, iron-laden water flowed through the pipes, it caused the lead to leach and poison the water supply. Besides, the pipes were very old. Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants. These four NRDC lawyers would finish each other’s thoughts—at any odd hour of the day or night—in their quest to help victims of the city’s lead crisis. How Can I Fix Mold and Lead Paint Issues in My House on a Small Budget? On April 25, 2014, officials looking to save money switched Flint, Michigan’s drinking water supply from the Detroit city system to the Flint River. Companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler had kept the town prosperous. This is unreal. When we open the tap to take a drink of water, we assume it is safe, right? Nearly three years after winning a $97 million legal settlement that required the city of Flint to replace its lead water service lines, NRDC is still on the ground holding officials accountable, and using similar tactics as we demand clean water for the residents of Newark. But the work of Flint residents and their advocates isn’t finished yet. Flint is where GM was born more than 100 years ago. It turns out that water flowing through the pipes into Flint homes was contaminated. To protect our water supplies, it is crucial that we upgrade our nationwide water infrastructure, prioritizing the replacement of an estimated 6.1 million lead service pipes. They made errors with testing, by not taking samples from the most affected localities, and sending them to testing labs that produced wrong results. A class-action lawsuit alleges lead poisoning and some have called for Michigan Gov. What Happened: Flint, Michigan obtained their water through Detroit for 50 years, sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River. But the 1980s put the brakes on that period of prosperity, as rising oil prices and auto imports resulted in shuttered auto plants and laid-off workers, many of whom eventually relocated. Two former Flint emergency managers, three Flint city officials, and a handful of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and MDHHS employees have also been charged. Far more than pipes were corroded during the Flint water crisis. Vague regulations let government officials hide drinking water contamination from the public. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.”. By Ruth Steinhardt. The city’s switch from Detroit water to the Flint River coincided with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease (a severe form of pneumonia) that killed 12 and sickened at least 87 people between June 2014 and October 2015. The city’s ongoing water crisis has left residents dependent on bottled water. Michigan being a heavily wooded state Michigan was a prime region for the lumber trade. Resident Lorenzo Lee Avery Jr. stands outside of Flint City Hall during a Flint Lives Matter event in 2016. The state now requires its public schools to test their drinking water for lead. E. coli and total coliform bacteria are detected in Flint's water, prompting multiple advisories for residents to boil their water. In early 2016, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced an independent review to “determine what, if any, Michigan laws were violated” during Flint’s drinking water disaster. Denials and delays from city officials have failed to keep residents safe from high levels of lead in their drinking water. But the warning had come too late. More than 15 months ago, residents of Flint started noticing that water coming through their pipes looked, smelled and tasted funny. Residents … That is exactly what the residents of Flint, Michigan thought as well. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. Institutional racism and classism combined with an environment poisoned almost beyond repair and a lack of … You'll receive your first NRDC action alert and update email soon. The damage can reverberate for a lifetime, reducing IQ and physical growth and contributing to anemia, hearing impairment, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral problems. Ironically, the city’s corrective measure—adding more chlorine without addressing other underlying issues—created a new problem: elevated levels of total trihalomethanes (TTHM), cancer-causing chemicals that are by-products of the chlorination of water. The only issue was Flint river was filthy and heavily contaminated with iron. Even more alarming were findings reported in September 2015 by Flint pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha: The incidence of elevated blood-lead levels in children citywide had nearly doubled since 2014—and nearly tripled in certain neighborhoods. The poisoned water has affected the health of the city's residents. You can go one step farther by having your water tested, either by your water supplier (which may provide this service for free) or by a certified lab. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. … All rights reserved. Meanwhile, Flint decided to switch back to the Detroit water supply. Youngzine is a tax-exempt 501c(3) nonprofit organization. But they could not have been more wrong. The waterway has also received raw sewage from the city’s waste treatment plant, agricultural and urban runoff, and toxics from leaching landfills. More than 40 percent measured above 5 ppb of lead, which the researchers considered an indication of a “very serious” problem. Then, suddenly, the whole world was … Indeed, there is some evidence that the situation in Flint is improving, with lead levels remaining below the federal action level for the past four six-month monitoring periods, from July 2016 to June 2018.