908 days. It’s been 908 days and counting since the residents of Flint, Michigan have been forced to live in constant fear of their water supply. I live in a college dorm–the majority of the water I use comes from and is reviewed by a county department. Imagine having absolutely no trust in the water you and your family/friends/acquaintances are use for drinking, bathing, making food, cleaning—just about everything.
If you haven’t heard about the crisis in Flint or just happened to forget, let me give you a brief rundown: in April, 2014, Genese County decided to switch Flint’s water supply from Detroit to the Flint River. In late 2014, the city issued a series of warnings about water contaminants like total/fecal coliform bacteria and cancer-causing byproducts of disinfectants. In Jan., 2015, residents noticed their water had major discolorations and they were developing rashes/illnesses. They brought it to the attention of the city council.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested and found that lead levels in the water of one Flint home was over 20 times the federal limit. Despite this finding, city officials and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) refused to do anything to mitigate it, saying the problem was not widespread and the costs of switching the water supply back to Detroit were too high. In September, three major studies done in Flint surfaced: the first revealed that 40 percent of homes in Flint had excessive amounts of lead in their water. The second concluded that water from the Flint River is corroding the pipes and allowing lead to leach into the water—it being 19 times more corrosive than the water from Detroit. The last study uncovered that after the city switched water suppliers, the number of children with high levels of lead in their blood doubled or even tripled in some areas. In October, the city finally decided to switch back to Detroit. The contamination issue wasn’t solved immediately however as it takes weeks, if not months, to flush out all the water. It wasn’t until Jan. 2017 when the MDEQ finally tested the city’s water and found it to be under the federal limit.
So why is this still important?
What happened in Flint wasn’t unavoidable. It wasn’t something bound to happen or some course of nature. The unfortunate events that took place and thousands of lives that were negatively affected could have been prevented if the people in charge had either taken action sooner or paid attention to the facts presented. There were countless numbers of lawsuits filed against the state of Michigan, the EPA and its officials ranging from negligence to conspiracy and fraud.
This didn’t have to happen. But because it did, the right thing to do is to hold those who were responsible accountable for putting their own interests above the health and well-being of their citizens. Flint has taught us that we aren’t immune to corruption and greed in a first-world country. But as a first-world country, it’s our job to maintain integrity within our systems and ensure that our people do come first—especially in Flint.
So what can we do?
- Donate. Whether it be money, water or clothing, anything and everything helps.
- Stay informed. Pay attention to the news and events going on around you, in your area and around the world.
- Activism and awareness. Your voice is a powerful force. Even if you aren’t passionate about water safety, find something that sparks a flame in you and fight for it.
Photo credit: @LoveMeLuLu22’s Twitter