A Human-Made Water Crisis
The infamous Flint Water crisis began in 2014 and has been in and out of news outlets since the human-made water crisis in Flint, Michigan, involves the contamination of the municipal water supply system.
The contaminated water contained high lead levels, resulting in a major public health threat. This became problematic so quickly that it led to a call for a state emergency, court appearances, lawsuits, charges, etc. To say the least, Flint was in for a serious water dilemma.
To some, Flint's case was just another story about environmental injustice, but to the residents, it was a matter of life and death. Drinking water with lead contamination has affected their health, living, and overall quality of life. Hence, the state and local governments should've solved this lead crisis immediately.
Instead, government officials deliberately ignored, overlooked, and belittled the problem, even after receiving massive complaints and reports about the water's foul smell, off-taste, and evident discoloration.
Moreover, with inadequate treatment and proper testing, this water continued to be piped into Flint's homes for several months. The government only properly investigated the problem when major symptoms caused by lead exposure started showing, such as skin rashes, itchy skin, hair loss, and even the so-called Legionnaires disease.
To make matters worse, the public water supply in Flint has led to complicated health threats among the youth. Several cases of elevated blood lead levels in Flint's children have endangered the health of the young population. If the city's water system remains mismanaged and untreated, many other health problems will emerge in the next years.
Let's delve deeper into Flint's water system and its background, how it ended up being contaminated with high amounts of lead, the lead levels in Flint's water, and how this affects human health in the long run.
We will also discuss in detail the lawsuits filed by the residents against the administration and the estimated cost of fixing the Flint water crisis.
The Root Cause of the Flint Water Crisis
The water emergency in Flint, Michigan, began in 2014 when the authorities switched the city's drinking water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save money.
Since then, Flint's water system has been heavily reported and suspected of water contamination. This is already given because the Flint River pipes water into the city and has acted as an unofficial water disposal site for over a century.
It is also used as a site for various treated and untreated industrial waste, from car factories to meatpacking plants and even lumber and paper mills.
This new water source has also been exposed to raw sewage from various waste treatment plants in the city and toxins from agricultural runoff, so the water crisis began naturally.
Early on, along the shores of the Flint River, it was like a new civilization filled with industries and several operations. Began General Motors, as well as the boom of the automobile industry.
In addition, it has been inhabited by, more or less, hundreds of thousands of people. However, in 1980, the "boom" was halted by long periods of economic problems, such as price hikes in oil and the wreckage of auto plants, followed shortly by unemployment.
As a result, many people relocated and evacuated the said area, while the majority of people who were behind left were practically below the poverty line. As such, there were a lot of abandoned houses, with a ratio of one abandoned home out of six in the city of Flint.
The city fell under state control with a deficit of over $25 million. Since then, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has assigned a newly elected emergency manager to supervise and control the city's costs. The city then decided to end its five-decade utilization of Detroit's water system and use a cheaper alternative: piping water from the Flint River.
Supposedly, it was a temporary alternative while waiting for the construction of Lake Huron.
Moreover, the water quality of the Flint River was highly corrosive, yet the city's officials remained calm about it and didn't even bother adding anti-corrosion chemicals. They didn't let it undergo the necessary treatment nor tried to filter it out. This, on top of the city's old pipes, caused lead contamination.
The High Levels of Lead in Flint's Water
A few months after using the Flint River as the main water source, many residents complained about the water's smell, taste, and texture.
Many residents protested, yet the officials were calm enough to deny such accusations. In retrospect, they reiterated that the Flint River water was safe.
The following year, researchers from Virginia Tech, a respected research university, collected water samples from several Flint homes in a resident-organized undertaking.
The research results show that lead levels had increased citywide. Based on specific measures, almost 17% of lead cases detected exceeded the federal “action level” of 15 parts per billion (ppb). By standard, this is the level at which corrective action must be taken immediately to prevent further damage.
Moreover, it was reported that at least 40% percent of samples measured above 5 ppb of lead. As may be the case, the researchers have concluded that Flint's water quality is critical.
As if the Flint water crisis couldn't get any worse, several findings link it to elevated lead levels in the blood of school-aged children. The incidents doubled in 2014 and nearly tripled in some parts of the city. According to recent surveys, almost ten thousand children were subjected to lead-contaminated water for almost two years.
MORE CAUSE FOR CONCERN:
Simply put, the dangers brought upon by Flint's untreated water supply were more than just lead contamination. It was also plagued by an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, a serious type of pneumonia. The outbreak was concluded to have started with the switch from Detroit Water to the Flint River.
In total, more than eighty (80) people contracted the disease, while there was a total death count of twelve (12) between 2014 and 2015. Due to the severity of the case, it was recorded as the third-largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the history of the United States.
Furthermore, the city water was also contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria, which resulted from poor water maintenance and insufficient chlorine in the water system, which is usually used to disinfect the water.
Given the problem, the city tried to address chlorine insufficiency by adding more chlorine to the water without addressing the underlying issue.
As a result, not only was it an ineffective and futile corrective measure to impose, but it also made the water crisis worse than it was before.
Due to their negligence, the water had high levels of a cancer-causing chemical called total trihalomethanes (TTHM). This resulted from excessive chlorination of water without understanding the context first.
The Dangers of Lead Exposure
Lead is a heavy metal popularly used to make cookware, makeup, paint, and even some preservatives in wine. Some people even used it for baths and aqueducts. It is easy to melt, hammer, or press out of its normal shape.
Still, lead consumption remains very dangerous, especially if consumed heavily and excessively.
Not surprisingly, lead exposure is linked to serious health complications —from sickness and disability to death itself.
Listed below are some of the health complications that lead may cause:
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Lead Interferes with Body Enzymes
When you consume lead, it enters the body by first flowing through your bloodstream. Along the way, it slowly but surely crosses paths with organs such as kidneys, muscles, and the brain. As such, it causes health threats because it interferes with body enzymes within the cells of these organs.
As a result, you may experience symptoms such as muscle and joint aches, constipation, and extreme body fatigue. You may also experience serious symptoms such as tremors, seizures, and paralysis if lead consumption is done in large amounts.
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Lead Can Cause Hypertension
As previously mentioned, lead can damage several enzymes within the cells of your kidneys. It causes damage to our kidneys and can result in hypertension when consumed for a long time.
As such, there is a link between a higher blood lead and a higher systolic and diastolic pulse. At the same time, low-level lead exposure may result in high blood pressure and, as mentioned, a great risk of hypertension.
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Lead is Linked with Anemia
Lead keeps our bodies from making hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen in our red blood cells. This results in iron deficiency and ultimately puts you in a health condition called anemia. Whether you are in a mild or moderate case of anemia, expect to feel the following symptoms: fatigue, dizziness or lightheadedness, cold hands and feet, and pale skin.
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Lead Can Trigger Fertility Issues
As mentioned above, lead flows through the bloodstream and can cross the placental barrier. This makes it even more dangerous for pregnant women because lead exposure may not only hurt them but can also pose serious health threats to the unborn child. Lead can damage the baby's developing nervous system.
Moreover, studies have shown that lead can trigger fertility issues in both males and females. It has also been made known that lead exposure may affect libido, semen quality, sperm count, and sperm DNA integrity. In addition to that, these negative changes in one's reproductive ability can reduce the fertility rate and increase the chances of miscarriages and premature birth.
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Lead is a Brain-Damaging Component
Elevated levels of lead exposure to the brain can damage the nervous system. Specifically, it may damage the prefrontal cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. This is a serious health complication because it may lead to neurological disorders.
This may include severe brain and nerve damage, intellectual disability, and behavioral disorders. One's risk for serious nervous system complications such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia will also be higher than that of those who were not exposed to lead.
Moreover, one may also experience a life-and-death medical situation such as coma, convulsions, and even death.
The Lawsuit Against City and State Officials
Since 2016, issue networks of citizens and resident groups have sued and filed cases against the city and state officials for negligence and called for greater action to solve the Flint water crisis. Flint residents, the local group Concerned Pastors for Social Action, NRDC, and the ACLU of Michigan were among the many who joined the lawsuit.
In the case filed, they demanded adequate testing and treatment of water to eliminate lead and called for replacing all of the city’s lead pipes. They also demanded that state officials act urgently to address these problems. They filed a motion stating that all residents—in all groups and ages—would have access to safe drinking water.
As such, this will only be possible if the city’s free water distribution centers are more accessible through a bottled water delivery service. Installing a water filter or conducting a maintenance program are also good options.
Fortunately, the group could graciously receive the fruits of their labor. In November of the same year, a federal judge approved and ordered the implementation of door-to-door delivery of bottled water to every resident who didn't have access to a reliable water faucet filter.
This was followed by even greater news: a major settlement requiring state officials to fund the replacement of Flint's lead pipes. The settlement decision also included proper tap water testing, faucet filter installation, education programs, free bottled water, and easy access to health programs that will allow the residents to heal from the negative health effects of Flint’s tainted water.
The Cost of Fix The Flint Water Crisis
After a successful lawsuit, the final cost to fix the Flint water crisis is an estimated $626 million, as approved and granted by the presiding judge.
Eighty percent of this total will be allocated to settle claims for residents aged 17 and younger exposed to lead contamination during childhood.
A major share of that 80% will also be used to fund children aged 6 and below because of the health threats brought by lead exposure to the young population.
Another $35 million will be set aside if some minors cannot (or will not) file claims until 19. By then, they can still claim their settlements under their discretionary rights.
On the other hand, $26 million will be used to fund hospitals with many cases of Legionnaire’s disease. Residents who provide medical proof of high lead levels in their blood samples or bones can also file a claim.
Ultimately, this incident was dubbed the “largest settlement in the state’s history.” Still, the most important thing was that the Flint water crisis's residents and victims received proper compensation.
You can review the latest news and updates about the Flint Water Crisis here.
The Resolution
Although the Flint water crisis has received a few amendments and settlements, it has yet to reach a final resolution.
This is because the work of Flint residents and other issue networks—together with their advocacies and several calls for action—has not been completely fulfilled thus far. The provisions of the settlement are still being implemented.
Fundamentally, the city and state officials have not yet kept and satisfied their end of the bargain.
Indeed, clean water is an essential part of our daily lives. It allows our bodies to function efficiently and heal comfortably, which is vital for all life.
Hence, water contamination can reduce life expectancy, result in various health complications, and disrupt one's everyday functions. There is a distinct link between water quality and life quality.
In simple logic, the better water quality you have access to, the better your life will become.
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