In April 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan changed their water source supply from Lake Huron to the nearby Flint River. The attempt to cut costs resulted in corrosion of the water pipes and lead contamination in the city’s water supply. 10 years later , some residents still do not have clean running water. For nearly 18 months, Flint residents were exposed to toxic lead levels and bacteria, even leading to an outbreak of an aggressive form of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ Disease which claimed the lives of dozens. What did samples reveal about Flint’s water? Water samples revealed Flint’s water supply was nearly 1,000 times the “action level” of lead contamination determined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A state of emergency was not declared in Flint until January 2016. The following month, the United States Department of Health and Human Services provided $500,000 to two Flint health centers to fight the issues that resulted from the tainted water...
