Written by Lauren Young and Edited by Myra Ali
Imagine going 1,462 days without clean water. This is exactly what the residents of Flint, Michigan had to go through. In April 2014, Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan cut off the entire city’s source of drinking water from Lake Huron and changed it to the Flint River [1]. Due to the city’s economic crisis, this decision was seen as a cheaper alternative and quicker solution. However, the ultimate price to pay was much higher.
By January 2015, residents of Flint started to see the detrimental effects of the lead-poisoned water coming from the new river source. Within a two-year period, the lead blood levels of children increased from 2.4% to 4.9% [1]. Having lead in the blood can potentially lead to very serious health problems, such as kidney failure, seizures, neurological damage, and even death. In fear of these toxic consequences from lead poisoning, residents were forced to bathe, cook, drink, and wash with only bottled water. By the end of the year, the city was in a declared state of emergency. Despite these toxic conditions, the residents of Flint were unable to leave the city due to their economic limitations and regional inequality.
With the intent to save $5 million over a two-year period by switching the water source, the long-term costs of the Flint Water Crisis actually caused an enormous debt of approximately $1.5 billion in fixing the Flint water system [1]. The Flint Water Crisis sparked not only a huge financial loss, but also caused Americans to no longer be confident in the sanitary condition of their water supply. As of the year 2018, various measures have been taken to gradually improve the status of this crisis.
In April 2018, the state announced that their city-wide, free bottled water service was ending due to claims that water quality had been restored to federally acceptable levels of lead. However, Mayor Weaver decided to sue the state in order to continue funding the program [2]. A few months later, claims from the Flint Department of Public Works proved there were thousands of lead lines still being used. A six-part per billion rise of lead was also seen within six months of ending the bottled water service [2]. Although the state ended this water service, other companies and even celebrities have stepped in to show their concerns about the issue. Nestle donated over a million water bottles in May 2018, while Elon Musk donated half a million dollars for filtration systems in the Flint school systems [2]. With the efforts of these celebrities, through monetary support and simply even more exposure on the matter, there can be greater awareness about the public health issues occurring in Flint, Michigan.
Instead of spending so much on the back-end to help solve these issues, preventative measures could have been set into place. It would have been possible to prevent lead seeping into the drinking water by using government-approved anticorrosives to treat the pipes for only $100 per day [3]. Keeping a mindset of incorporating economic vitality, social equity, and ecological integrity in future political decisions can stop future debacles, such as the Flint Water Crisis, from occurring once more [4].
References:
- Hanna-Atisha, M., Lachance, J., Sadler, R.C., & Schnepp, A.C. Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children Associated with the Flint Drinking Water Crisis: A Spatial Analysis of Risk and Public Health Response. American Journal of Public Health. 106: 283-290
- Fonger, R. Flint Water Lead Levels Stable as State Turns Testing Over to City. M Live Michigan.
- Gostin, L.O. Politics and Public Health: The Flint Drinking Water Crisis. The Hastings Center Report. 47: 5-6.
- Flint, R.W. The Sustainable Development of Water Resources. Water Resources Update. 127: 41-51.