What happened in Flint, Michigan and why exactly was it the significant catastrophe that it has now become? What I want to focus on throughout this paper is the events that led up to the events that became so public and that led to an outrage in Flint, Michigan, who were the people responsible and did they have a history of careless actions, who exactly was affected by the water crisis and lastly were there safeguards that should have prevented the water crisis from occurring?
Many people know the end result of what happened in Flint, Michigan, but not a lot of people (including myself) knew exactly the events that led up to the endpoint. For half a century, Flint, Michigan receiving its water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department but in April of 2014, the state appointed emergency management changed its water supply to the Flint River temporarily until they receive a new pipeline to Lake Huron in 2016. [1] So what is the reason for the city officials of Flint, Michigan to switch from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Karegnondi Water Authority? The plan was that it would reduce costs. Since April 2014, the city officials put their citizens at risk in an effort to save money and as evidence, the water crisis has now become one of the worst such crisis in recent history. One example is in January of 2015, the city of Flint warned their citizens that the water contains disinfectants that can increase the risk of cancer. [2] A week later, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (Flint’s initial water supplier) offered to reconnect the city of Flint with Lake Huron water and they even offered to waive the 4 million dollar fee in order to restore service. I would think that after possibly learning their lesson, the city officials would agree, but once more they declined because they were worried and concerned that the water rates would go up more than 12 million dollars each year. [3]
Only a month later, a Flint resident contacts the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerned with the dark remnants in her water, which she believes is causing her children to be sick. The EPA tested the water and it had 104 parts per billion of lead. To give reference, the limit is 15 parts per billion. Now I know that this timeline is a little bit extensive but in order to understand the gravity of what occurred in early 2015 in Flint Michigan, the level of ignorance must be magnified. A month later, Flint City Council Members vote 7-1 to stop using the Flint River water and to reconnect with Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, but unsurprisingly, Jerry Ambrose overruled the vote because he said that the cost would skyrocket and that Detroit water is no safer than Flint water. [4] Unfortunately for Jerry Ambrose, that is a false statement. The Flint distribution system contains a significant amount of lead pipes and lead plumbing. The problem with having such a significant amount of lead in the water is mainly the concern of children. Lead poisoning affects many developmental and biological processes. So for example, if a child takes an oral dose of water-soluble lead their body will absorb approximately 40-50 percent and if a full-grown adult takes that same dose, their body will absorb around 3-10 percent. [1]
So now that we know what happened with the water in Flint, Michigan, the next course of action is to find out exactly who is responsible for the crisis. Many would argue that the governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder is to blame for the crisis because he is the head honcho so to speak. When there is a crisis of this magnitude, the first person we look at is at the person at the top and in this case it was Rick Snyder. But it goes deeper than that. The first person we must look at is Liane Shekter-Smith who was the chief of the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The attorney general of Michigan Bill Schuette launched an investigation against Shekter-Smith and let’s assume in that investigation that he only concluded that Shekter-Smith is responsible for the water solely on the fact that it is her job to make sure that the water is safe to drink. In addition to that, the investigation found that Shekter-Smith also took initiative to conceal evidence from health officials over the quality of the water. [5] I would think that maybe this is an isolated incident and that Shekter- Smith is the only person covering up and concealing evidence, but that is false also. Two of her employees, Adam Rosenthal and Patrick Cook also are guilty in this crisis. Adam Rosenthal is a water quality analyst and he manipulated a report, which showed higher levels of lead in water. Patrick Cook who was a drinking water unit specialist is charged with providing the Environmental Protection Agency with false information. [6]
Now let’s talk about the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. There are 3 different employees of this program who are guilty of 3 unique nefarious acts. Nancy Peeler buried a report that had concerns about the unusual amount of lead in the children of Flint, Michigan. Corrine Miller told another employee to delete emails that talked about blood lead data. The 3rd employee, Robert Scott fabricated a report that stated that there is no significant increase in blood lead levels in children. [6] So now that it is well known that there were cover-ups and manipulation of reports going on left and right, I would like to turn back to Jerry Ambrose. Governor Rick Snyder appointed him and he deserves a lot of the blame because when there was a council of people who almost voted unanimously (7-1) to stop using Flint River water, he overruled the vote because he stated that water from Detroit is no safer than Flint but the second reason he gives is a reason that this crisis is as bad as it is. From the get–go, this crisis was motivated by saving money. It was never intended to increase the quality of life of the citizens of Flint, Michigan. Before the outbreak got even worse than it was, Jerry Ambrose had the chance and opportunity to allow Flint, Michigan to reconnect with Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and cut of the source of the problem, which was the water from the Flint River.
All that was written so far leads to a final question: at what point was this Flint Michigan crisis getting out of hand? In April 2014 the switch to the Flint River from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department happened. It took a year and a half for Governor Snyder to finally switch back to Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. On October 8, 2015 after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced that 3 Flint schools tested for a very high and dangerous amount of lead in the water did Governor Snyder finally decide to discontinue the use of Flint River water. A week later, on October 8, 2015, Governor Snyder signed a bill of roughly 9 million dollars to help Flint, Michigan reconnect with Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. [7]
I believe this is what happens when people are motivated by money. This is a prime example of hoping to save money but not paying attention to the consequences. The truth of this crisis is that there were many times when the crisis could have been averted and it wasn’t. From my perspective, I believe that the officials and employees who covered up reports and fabricated documents were doing so to protect themselves and to avoid any further suspicion. In that process, many if not all of the people involved in the Flint, Michigan crisis are now being charged with multiple felonies, deservingly so.