Residents had urged their leaders to relieve the burden of pricey water. But at this point it was difficult for the city to do much about it. Its infrastructure was built to serve Flint when it had twice the people it had now; to maintain it, fewer ratepayers had to carry a heavier burden. The county drain commissioner, Jeff Wright, was fond of portraying the DWSD as a price-gouging monopoly, and he saw an opportunity to develop an alternative.
This new water authority was just an idea at first, and seen as a negotiating tactic to pressure the DWSD for better rates. But then the not-yet-existent KWA got a permit from the Michigan department of environmental quality to pull 85m gallons of water per day out of the Great Lakes.
Flint and its neighbouring communities were invited to help build the new water system from the ground up. Unlike the Detroit system, which delivered treated water, the KWA would pump raw water to the communities it served. That meant they would have to treat the water first, before selling it on to residents and businesses. For Flint, it would mean rebooting the old treatment plant and navigating the complexities of water chemistry in-house. But Wright, the eventual head of the KWA, lobbied fiercely for it, on the grounds of savings, independence and stability.
In , Flint contracted with the KWA to purchase 18m gallons of water for the city per day. Until it was ready, the other communities that were moving to the new system simply paid the DWSD for continuing water service. Flint, however, made the unusual decision to enlist a different source of water during this transition period.
The city turned to its emergency supply: The Flint River was not an obvious choice. It had borne so much mistreatment from industry and development —chemical dumping, sewage effluent — that locals had learned to avoid it. After a series of floods in the early 20th century, massive concrete barricades were built to channel the downtown section. They were meant to make the riverfront safer, but became a fortress line that barred people from the water.
While deindustrialisation and the rise of environmental regulations had vastly improved the water quality, the community still eyed it with suspicion.
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Generations of kids were taught to fish in the Flint River, casting lines off the grassy banks in their neighbourhoods, but invariably learned to toss the catfish and carp back into the current. They were told it was too dangerous to eat anything from the water.
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To treat the river water, the old plant needed a series of upgrades. But getting the facility up to speed was difficult, and while cost estimates varied widely, only a fraction of the early figures proposed by engineering consultants was spent on the project. If water is distributed from this plant in the next couple of weeks, it will be against my direction.
I need time to adequately train additional staff and to update our monitoring plans before I will feel we are ready.
Scientists Now Know Exactly How Lead Got Into Flint's Water | Science | Smithsonian
I will reiterate this to management above me, but they seem to have their own agenda. But the switch was carried out anyway, marked by a toast as local leaders raised their water glasses at the plant. Among the people celebrating was Darnell Earley, the latest in a string of emergency managers appointed by the state of Michigan from onwards to lead Flint out of financial distress.
The idea of emergency management is that an outside official unconstrained by local politics or the prospect of a reelection bid will be better able to make the difficult decisions necessary to get a struggling city back on solid ground. In Flint, that meant that the authority of the mayor, Dayne Walling, and the council had been suspended for more than two years. Their roles were now symbolic and advisory, or empowered and paid only to the extent that Earley allowed. This was echoed by an editorial in the local press that heralded it as a way for the city to reclaim its sovereignty, which had been undermined by disinvestment and emergency management.
Earlier, he had expressed worry about what would happen if Flint used its own river for drinking water — bacterial problems, dangerous chemicals, additional regulatory requirements. And now Flint was using the river anyway. But at the plant, he seemed tranquil. Regarding the drinking water, he said: She had survived cancer twice, forcing her into early retirement, and she lived on a limited income. The manager who took his calls, Jennifer Crooks, described them in an email to her colleagues: He said his doctor says the rash is from the new drinking water, and I told him to have his doctor document this and he can bring it to the attention of the MDEQ, since lab analyses to date show that the drinking water is meeting all health-based standards.
Asked to respond, the city said the water met all safety requirements and that it was continually monitoring for problems. But in fact there was a problem. But this was breaking federal law. In the years to come, the question of whether the authorities omitted this knowingly or through a terrible misunderstanding of the law would be a matter of intense dispute.
Together, this was a dangerous combination. It extends the life of the pipes and, because it prevents metals from fouling the drinking water, it helps protect public health as well. In about half of all American water companies, including the Detroit system, orthophosphates are added to the water at the treatment plant. These create a protective coating that helps keep metals from leaching into the water as it flows through the water mains and the service lines running to individual houses.
The brown water that gushed from the Civic Park fire hydrants, dark as coffee: Flint residents did not yet know all this. But they did know that the water stank. Meanwhile, public figures spent the summer counselling residents to have patience as they worked out the kinks. And yet, before the end of the summer, the city issued three separate boil-water advisories in 22 days. These relatively common notices come when there is a system disturbance that could affect water quality, such as a drop in pressure caused by a broken main or maintenance work. But in Flint, which was already uneasy about this expensive and strange-tasting water, the advisories did not seem ordinary at all.
The first notice came on 16 August after faecal coliform bacteria, also known as E coli , had been detected. It was a surprising discovery. Across Michigan, the bacteria show up in drinking water about three times a year on average, and sometimes not at all. Its presence suggests that the water is contaminated by human or animal faeces, which can make people ill, especially older people, young children and those with weak immune systems.
Everybody with a tap was told to boil water for one minute before drinking, bathing, brushing teeth, washing dishes, cooking or making ice. Each advisory reached farther into Flint. Both agreed that the advisories were a red flag but did not pose an inherent danger to residents. June Learn how and when to remove this template message. This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose.
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Ecology portal Environment portal Michigan portal Water portal. American Journal of Public Health. Retrieved January 30, Retrieved January 16, Retrieved January 29, Retrieved February 27, Retrieved June 29, Retrieved February 9, Retrieved November 29, Flint cuts water flow from Detroit after nearly 50 years". Retrieved November 13, Detroit terminated its contract with the city effective April 17 last year when Flint decided to purchase water through the KWA.
Retrieved May 8, Retrieved February 13, Retrieved February 23, Retrieved March 3, Retrieved March 30, Says risky to switch water source again". Retrieved April 24, Retrieved June 14, Retrieved October 17, Retrieved March 1, More than 30, water samples have been tested in Flint since the crisis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved February 6, No more free bottled water for Flint residents". Retrieved April 7, Retrieved April 13, Retrieved April 23, Retrieved April 25, Retrieved April 27, Retrieved May 14, Retrieved January 11, Retrieved August 14, Retrieved May 31, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Retrieved April 8, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Retrieved March 24, Rick Snyder declares end of financial emergency". Michigan Live Media Group. Retrieved July 18, Retrieved December 6, It's terminating water contract covering Flint, Genesee County in one year". Retrieved January 9, Retrieved June 17, Retrieved February 8, Retrieved February 4, The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 2, Retrieved September 2, Retrieved December 30, Retrieved October 8, Ananich calls for emergency funding from the state to address Flint water crisis".
Retrieved January 13, Archived from the original on January 16, Retrieved January 19, Retrieved February 3, Retrieved October 12, Retrieved November 19, Modeling temporal trends of lead level since returning to Detroit water system". Science of the Total Environment.
Retrieved December 15, Retrieved May 26, The Journal of Pediatrics.
Flint, Flintshire
Retrieved January 24, Retrieved January 7, Retrieved January 12, Retrieved January 27, Retrieved August 11, Retrieved January 21, Retrieved January 22, Retrieved February 2, Retrieved March 11, Retrieved December 16, Rick Snyder announces Flint Water Task Force to review state, federal and municipal actions, offer recommendations" Office of the Governor press release. Retrieved October 21, Retrieved December 29, Retrieved November 16, State "fundamentally accountable" for Flint crisis".
Retrieved March 23, Flint Water Advisory Task Force. Retrieved March 21, Flint Water Study Updates. Retrieved January 17, Retrieved January 15, The New York Times.
Manslaughter charge possible in Flint". Snyder plans to do about Flint water crisis". Rick Snyder's Flint water emails". Retrieved January 26, Rick Snyder releases departmental emails produced regarding Flint water crisis" State of Michigan official site press release. Retrieved February 12, Retrieved February 26, Retrieved March 10, Retrieved February 5, Retrieved November 14, Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Retrieved March 4, Retrieved January 14, Retrieved March 15, Snyder, EPA chief testify in front of Congress".
Retrieved March 17, Retrieved February 10, Retrieved April 6, Retrieved March 28, Retrieved December 18, Retrieved January 10, Retrieved January 5, Retrieved January 6, Snyder signs executive order to create new Flint water committee". Retrieved January 18, Retrieved March 16, Health and Human Services to lead federal response of Flint water crisis".
Archived January 29, , at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 28, Retrieved February 14, Retrieved February 18, Retrieved 2 September Retrieved June 2, Retrieved April 20, Retrieved May 4, Retrieved July 29, Governor Rick Snyder, et. Retrieved November 15, Retrieved January 25, Snyder sued in class action lawsuit over Flint water crisis". Retrieved April 19, Retrieved March 7, Retrieved March 9, Retrieved April 1, Retrieved March 25, Retrieved May 18, Retrieved June 23, Retrieved January 8, Retrieved January 20, Archived from the original on January 29, Retrieved January 23, Retrieved February 24, Pipe replacement to begin next month".
Retrieved February 16, Retrieved July 19, Retrieved November 17, Retrieved February 1, Sources of exposure, health effects and policy implications". Chan School of Public Health. Here's who would really be paying". Retrieved January 4, Rick Snyder to resign over 'indifference' to Flint water crisis". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 2, Retrieved May 2, Retrieved May 17, Retrieved January 2, Archived from the original on January 2, Retrieved May 13, Rick Snyder did nothing as Flint's water crisis became one of the worst cases of environmental racism in modern American history".
The New York Daily News. An obscene failure of government". Rick Snyder needs to do more than just apologize for Flint water crisis". Retrieved December 31, Retrieved November 3, Retrieved December 23, Retrieved December 19, Flint crisis, four years on: Since , Flint has received millions of dollars in aid, and the state of the water is improving — but residents are still left with physical ailments and lifelong fears.
Flint activists still waiting as governor escapes fallout of water crisis. This week it will be four years since the calamity of Flint switching its water source, and activists are angry Rick Snyder is still in office. Flint residents are being punished for not paying for poisoned water Anthony Baxter. Netflix docu-series shines light on the harsh reality of US policing. Bridges and roads crumble. Capitol Hill is in stasis. As Trump prepares to announce an infrastructure plan in his State of the Union address, can no one ever agree on anything?