The city of Flint, Michigan, is getting heavy state and national attention and much-needed assistance as it deals with a drinking water crisis that began after officials switched water source in 2014 while under state financial management, and the tap water became contaminated with lead.
Vehicles drive through downtown Flint, Mich., on Jan. 21, 2016. From its founding, Flint’s fortunes essentially were entwined with a single industry. First it was the fur trade, which shifted to lumber, which gave way to the horse carriages that led to it being called Vehicle City. It was a fitting moniker for its next, most important role, as a powerhouse of auto manufacturing and the original home of General Motors. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan National Guard leaders began arriving in the city to help distribute bottled water, filters and other supplies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also approved a request by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, whose administration has come under fire for how it handled concerns about the water, to coordinate a recovery plan.
It’s yet another challenge for a city of 99,000 people beset by numerous auto factory closures and thousands of job losses over the decades, and where about 40 percent of the population lives in poverty.
Some questions and answers on how Flint got here, where things stand and what’s next:
When and why did Flint change its water source?
Flint had long received its water from Detroit’s massive system but officials complained about the rates. For years, officials in Flint and surrounding Genesee County discussed creating an independent system — along with a separate pipeline to Lake Huron. In April 2014, Flint left Detroit’s system and joined the regional effort, tapping into the Flint River as its primary source until the pipeline would be completed. It was seen as an effort to save money while the city was led by an emergency manager appointed by the Republican governor.
In this photo taken Dec. 18, 2015, a construction crew works on laying pipe for the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline along Norway Lake Road in Lapeer, Mich. About 1,200 workers are taking advantage of the relatively mild winter to build the final portion of a new pipeline to bring water from Lake Huron to communities including Flint. (Sean Proctor/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) See these photos on APImages.com
In this photo taken Dec. 18, 2015, the beginnings of the inlet structure for the Genesee County water treatment plant is seen in Oregon Township, Mich. When completed, the plant will receive water directly from Lake Huron via the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline. (Sean Proctor/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) See these photos on APImages.com
Water from the Flint River flows through the Hamilton Dam near downtown Flint, Mich., on Jan. 21, 2016. As a part of efforts to get the city’s finances in line, its water source was changed in April 2014, from a supply treated in Detroit and piped to Flint, to Flint River water treated and disseminated locally. It wasn’t long before residents began complaining of yellow and brown water from their taps, along with an unpleasant taste and smell. People began seeing rashes on their skin and clumps of hair falling from their heads. Workers at a remaining GM plant found their parts were corroding. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
What happened?
Right away, residents complained about the taste, smell and appearance of the water, and reported adverse health reactions, but officials said state tests met federal safety guidelines. A General Motors plant stopped using the water, saying it was rusting its parts. Subsequent independent tests found children with elevated levels of lead in their blood and it was determined that the highly corrosive river water was drawing lead from aging pipes. State officials initially challenged or dismissed those findings, and, for more than a year, lead leached into homes. Lead exposure can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children, and kidney ailments and other issues in adults.
Terri Nelson poses in the living room of her home in Flushing, Mich, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. After nearly 39 years married, Nelson will celebrate her wedding anniversary for the first time without her husband Dwayne Nelson. He died from complications involving Legionnaires’ disease on Aug. 7, 2015 at McLaren Hospital in Flint, Mich. She said after hearing about Flint’s water supply potentially being the cause of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Genesee County that she and her family have put their own conclusions together. Out of some 87 cases in the county, 10 were fatal. (Jake May /The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Flint, Mich., resident Michael Simmons, 61, stands amongst gallons and cases of bottled water as he arrives to pick up free water from Pastor Bobby Jackson after Detroit-area volunteers dropped off more than 500 cases of bottled water in Flint on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, coordinating with Mission of Hope on Flint’s north side. “It’s a disgrace. It’s shameful. I can’t believe it,” Simmons said. “That the governor of Michigan would know about what has been done to Flint and not do anything about it? He needs to be locked up.” (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Lyla McCallun, 4, formerly of Flint, draws on a sheet of paper while sitting on the lap of her grandmother, Flint resident Jacqueline Pemberton, as they wait for the start of a press conference, announcing the filing of a potential class action lawsuit against both city and state government officials on Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 at the Holiday Inn Express in Flint. Pemberton is one of six others listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which claims that these government officials violated constitutional rights providing lead-tainted water to residents, which lead to alleged developing health issues, including hair loss, depression and auto-immune disorders. (Jake May /The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
LaShanti Redmond, 10, left, and her sister Asharra Smith, 6, hold onto their mother Charlene Mitchell, all of Flint, for comfort as they wait to get their blood tested for lead levels in Flint, Mich., Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. The Flint Community Schools, the Genesee County Health Department and Molina Healthcare held a family fun night at the school to get children ages 0 to 6-year-olds tested for lead levels in their blood. The next testing event will be held at Eisenhower Elementary on Jan. 26. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Registered Nurse Brian Jones draws a blood sample from Grayling Stefek, 5, at the Eisenhower Elementary School, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 in Flint, Mich. The students were being tested for lead after the metal was found in the city’s drinking water. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Kyaira Donald, 6, of Flint, gets her finger poked to test her blood for lead levels, while at Freeman Elementary School in Flint, Mich., Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. The Flint Community Schools, the Genesee County Health Department and Molina Healthcare held a family fun night at the school to get children ages 0 to 6-year-olds tested for lead levels in their blood. The next testing event will be held at Eisenhower Elementary on Jan. 26. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
When did the State acknowledge the problem?
County health officials declared a public health emergency Oct. 1, and the next day Snyder announced $1 million for home water filters. A week later, he called for Flint to return to Detroit’s water system, said water at schools would be immediately tested and pledged millions more in aid. That month, he also said a task force would review how everything had been handled and offer recommendations.
Flint resident David Peterson, 89, left, and his wife Ollie Peterson, 87, listening to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder deliver his State of the State address on television, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, at their home in Flint. With the water crisis gripping Flint threatening to overshadow nearly everything else he has accomplished, the Republican governor again pledged a fix Tuesday night during his annual State of the State speech. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Flint resident Lorraine Jones pours canned water into a pot in preparation for boiling to cook on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, at River Park Apartments in Flint, Mich. After weeks without water being distributed, the residents are finally getting bottled water delivered to their doorsteps for the first time Tuesday as four Flint Housing Commission workers shuttled cases of water throughout the community. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
St. Clair Shores resident Terra Castro wipes away tears as she takes a moment to reflect on the state of emergency in Flint while dropping off more than 500 cases of bottled water with about 20 Detroit-based volunteers on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, at Mission of Hope on Flint, Mich.’s north side. President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration for Flint, Michigan, that clears the way for federal aid to the city undergoing a drinking water crisis. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Why did it take so long?
Snyder said he sought answers earlier last year from state environmental officials but action was delayed when his office received inaccurate information. The state auditor general and the task force faulted the Department of Environmental Quality for not requiring Flint to treat the river water for corrosion and for belittling the public’s fears. Former DEQ Director Dan Wyant resigned last month. Critics have argued Snyder should have acted sooner as the person ultimately responsible, a point he recently acknowledged and for which he apologized.
Efforts also intensified with the November election of Mayor Karen Weaver over the incumbent, who had blamed state and federal officials. Weaver declared a state of emergency, which led the county and ultimately the state to do the same last week.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks during a news conference in Flint, Mich., Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. Snyder pledged Monday that officials would make contact with every household in Flint to check whether residents have bottled water and a filter and want to be tested for lead exposure while his embattled administration works on a long-term solution to the city’s water crisis. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
More than 150 activists protest outside of City Hall to protest Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s handling of the water crisis, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 in Flint. Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Protestors rally outside of the state Capitol during Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, in Lansing, Mich. With the water crisis gripping Flint threatening to overshadow nearly everything else he has accomplished, the Republican governor again pledged a fix Tuesday night during his annual State of the State speech. (Sean Proctor/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Ahmirah Porter, 9, stands silently behind a sign that reads “I’ve been poisoned by policy,” as she joins more than 150 activists protest outside of City Hall to protest Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s handling of the water crisis Friday, Jan. 8, 2016 in Flint. Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Flint resident Tony Palladino Jr.’s sign reads “Synder’s dirty little secret” atop a crossed out city of Flint on the map on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 outside of the Capitol in Lansing, Mich., in protest against Gov. Rick Snyder, asking for his resignation and arrest in relation to Flint’s water crisis. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
What’s next?
Snyder pledged that officials would contact every household in Flint to check whether residents have bottled water and a filter and want to be tested for lead exposure while his administration works on a long-term solution. Volunteers are also passing out the Best Water Softener Reviews to inform the public. Nearly 30 Guardsman are expected to be in place, enabling American Red Cross volunteers to join door-to-door efforts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also has approved Snyder’s request to coordinate a recovery plan.
Snyder said that since October, about 12,000 filters have been distributed and roughly 2,000 blood tests have been done — uncovering 43 cases of elevated lead levels — but the actions aren’t “good enough.” It can sometimes be difficult to gauge the effects, which health officials say can take years to fully manifest.
Volunteers go door to door in Flint Neighborhoods distributing water filters, replacement cartridges, and bottled water on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. The volunteers were escorted by State Police and Genesee Country Sheriff’s deputies. Safe drinking water has not flowed from many Flint faucets for almost two years after the state-run city switched its source to the highly corrosive Flint River and failed to treat it properly to protect lead from leaching into it. (Conor Ralph/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Colette Brown is helped by a police officer after expressing gratitude upon hearing that the Genesee County Sheriff’s office and a work detail of people sentenced to community service were handing out water filters and gallons of water to residents of Flint’s north side on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Mich. Michigan’s governor pledged additional state assistance Thursday for the southeastern Michigan city of Flint as it deals with elevated lead levels in its drinking water, but he provided little detail about what additional help and money would be provided. (Sean Proctor /The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Michigan National Guard Staff Sgt. Stephen Robel helps carry a case of water to the vehicle of Flint resident Karand Houston as the first seven Michigan National Guard soldiers arrive on the ground at fire stations on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2015 throughout Flint, assigned by Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday to help distribute water and relieve residents in relation to the Flint water crisis. Safe drinking water has not flowed from many Flint faucets for almost two years after the state-run city switched its source to the highly corrosive Flint River and failed to treat it properly to protect lead from leaching into it. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Flint resident Charles Chatmon carries a free water filter and case of water away from a fire station where members of the Michigan National Guard helped distribute supplies to aid in the city’s water crisis, on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Flint, Mich. Flint’s tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
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AP Images is the world’s largest collection of historical andcontemporary photos. AP Images provides instant access to AP's iconic photos and adds new content every minute of every day from every corner of the world, making it an essential source of photos and graphics for professional imagebuyers and commercial customers. Whether your needs are for editorial, commercial, or personal use, AP Images has the content and the expert sales team to fulfill your image requirements. Visit apimages.com to learn more.
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