Strange colors and smells seeped out of the faucets of Flint, Michigan, residents for more than a year, but officials assured them everything was fine. In recent weeks, it’s been revealed that residents had a right to be concerned; the water has been contaminated and has increased lead levels in the blood of some of the city’s children.
Last year, a boil order was issued when fecal coliform bacteria surfaced in some Flint neighborhoods, reports The New York Times. Extra chlorine was pumped into the water to combat the problem, but it seemed to only add increased levels of this new contaminant.
After switching to a temporary water supply in 2014, Flint officials seemed to have soothed residents. They sent out a notice in July, stating, “This is not an emergency. If a situation arises where the water is no longer safe to drink, you will be notified within 24 hours.”
Despite their reassurances, alarm spiked again when testing in recent weeks revealed increased levels of lead in the blood of some of Flint's children. Health officials believe the water is a likely source.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Hurley Medical Center pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha reviewed blood test results of some of the city’s children both before and after the city ended its water contract with Detroit and began taking water from the Flint River. In the 20 months before Sept. 15, 2013, the amount of children with elevated blood-lead levels jumped from 2.1 percent to 4.0 percent between Jan. 1 and Sept. 15 of this year.
Certain zip codes saw a more troubling change. According to Hanna-Attisha, there was an increase from 2.5 percent of lead found in the children tested to 6.3 percent.
“I was hoping not to find anything, but what we found … is concerning,” said Hanna-Attisha. “This is not something you mess around with. Our population already has so many issues from poverty, from unemployment, from violence.”
Flint’s water problems are the result of long-standing financial hardships. In 1960, the city had nearly 200,000 residents, but as auto plants closed, the population dropped by half. In 2011, the tax base shrank and an emergency manager was appointed to the city. The next four years lead to the city having four managers overseeing operations, and the water supply was switched.
Flint had purchased its water supply from Detroit for decades before the city’s leaders decided they could save millions by creating a new authority that would draw and treat its own water from the lake. However, before they could make this change, they would need an alternative water supply. They switched to drawing from the Flint River, which state officials say was a back up water source in the past. This change created a host of problems.
The city initially advised residents to run their water for five minutes before using it, to use only cold water for drinking and cooking and to install lead-removing water filters. Then, county officials issued an emergency advisory, recommending people not drink the water unless it was filtered or tested for lead. Fountains were shut off in local schools and private groups donated bottled water to them, as well as filters to families that could not afford them.
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Officials claim that the water leaving their plant does not contain lead, but the chemistry in the water disturbs lead in the delivery pipes and plumbing fixtures in homes and businesses, the Detroit Free Press also reports.
Wednesday a panel of experts recommended that Flint reconnects to Detroit’s water system in an effort to restore the quality of the city’s drinking water.
A ten-point plan was issued Friday to address Flint’s troubled water system and it included free water testing, an allocation of $1 million for water filters for residents and complete anticorrosion treatment of the city’s water system.
Despite these actions, many residents feel the authorities let them down by taking so long to react.
“Anytime you have to weigh money against the health and welfare of people, it always has to be the health and welfare you go with,” Flint pastor Rev. Alfred Harris told The New York Times. Harris has stopped performing baptisms at his church because of concerns about the contaminants in the water. “We’ve been talking about this for the last 14 months, and they did not give a sincere ear to any of us. Shame on you!”
Another Flint resident, LeeAnne Walters, told The Times her four-year-old son who has immune system issues has had direct consequences as a result of consuming the water. He dropped to 27 pounds, much less than that of his twin brother and, according to Walters, he sometimes seemed unable to pronounce words he had already learned.
“He is going to deal with the side effects of this for the rest of his life. I don’t think there’s a word angry enough to describe my anger. I trusted the city, and I helped the city poison my kid,” said Walters.
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In addition to securing funds, the city of Flint must also negotiate a contract with Detroit and Genesee County, which owns the transmission lines they need to carry water from Detroit’s main to Flint’s water plant.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has been in discussions with Flint, William Wolfson, the department’s chief administrative and compliance officer, told the Free Press. According to him, when Flint disconnected from Detroit’s system, it was a “hard disconnect,” meaning the pipes would have to be joined again, a task Detroit would not charge any special fees for.
“The only change would be our labor charges,” said Wolfson, who declined to estimate a price.
According to John O’Brien of the Genesee County Drain Office, reconnecting could be completed in “about two weeks, once the agreement is reached with Detroit.”
However, he warns that the switch to Detroit’s water will not eliminate all of Flint’s lead issues. Like many communities, the city struggles with an aging infrastructure.
“I think the expectation is zero lead,” O’Brien told the Free Press. “I think the expectation is too high.”
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