THIS DAY IN HISTORY – The Flint water crisis begins – 2014

Via History.com

On April 25, 2014 officials from Flint, Michigan switched the city’s water supply to the Flint River as a cost-cutting measure for the struggling city. In doing so, they unwittingly introduced lead-poisoned water into homes, in what would become a massive public-health crisis.

The problem started when officials decided to switch the water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Karegnondi Water Authority to save money for the economically struggling city. Before that connection could be built, the city turned to the Flint River as a temporary water source. By May, residents were complaining that the brown water flowing into their homes looked and smelled weird, but the largely majority-African American and poor citizens went ignored by officials. In August, E.coli and coliform bacteria were detected in Flint’s water.

From there, a leaked memo from the Environmental Protection Agency, and several independent studies, warned of dangerous levels of lead in the water. Although the city switched their water supply back in October 2015, the damage to the pipes had already been done. After months of denial and dodging, the mayor, governor and president declared a state of emergency in Flint. Free water bottles and filters were provided to residents to help them cope.

Unfortunately, the crisis didn’t end there for Flint residents. Over a year later, people were still using bottled water to cook, drink and even brush their teeth. The city’s recovery has been slow, as it works to replace 30,000 lead pipes. In 2017, reports showed that the water in most homes was safe, but some residents still don’t trust what comes out of their tap.

In the aftermath, residents filed a class-action lawsuit, and 15 state and city leaders faced criminal charges. Trials are scheduled to begin in 2018.

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6 Comments
Old Toad of Green Acres
Old Toad of Green Acres
April 25, 2019 6:27 am

Trust in govinmint, everything will be ok.
It is all on the level.

anarchyst
anarchyst
April 25, 2019 8:02 am

The Flint, Michigan “water crisis” was a result of city and county officials “jumping the gun” while planning to disconnect from the Detroit water system in order to utilize their (presently unfinished) Karegnondi regional system. Since their regional system, providing water from Lake Huron, was not completed, city and county officials decided to provide water to Flint residents from the Flint river. Anyone who lives in Michigan knows that the Flint river was heavily polluted in the past, from industrial processes. Although since cleaned up, toxins are still leaching out of the Flint river.
Lead was leaching from the present piping infrastructure because the city chose not to spend $50.00 per day for anti-leaching chemicals. Once again, this was a city officials’ decision.
Michigan’s governor and state officials had nothing to do with the decision to use water from the Flint river. It was city and county officials that made the decision.
Flint has since reconnected to the Detroit water system.
Of course, politics figures into this as the Democrat city and county officials do not want to take blame for their own shortsightedness and stupidity.
Note that Detroit has the best water in the country.

Yancey_Ward
Yancey_Ward
April 25, 2019 11:39 am

Yeah, in 2014 Flint Michigan began a deep decline. Sheesh.

MrLiberty
MrLiberty
April 25, 2019 11:58 am

For all the people who cry out about the need for safe drinking water, remember….EVERY public, municipal drinking water supply is in some way operated, overseen, regulated, or similar…BY THE GOVERNMENT. Every waterway that feeds these water sources, every lake, every stream, etc. is also regulated BY THE GOVERNMENT. Pollution is a trespass – a property crime against others. When government sets “acceptable limits” of pollution, they are essentially saying that the property rights of the victims DO NOT MATTER when it comes to how much pollution they wish to all in THEIR water, on THEIR property, etc.

Government, as always, is the source of ALL of our societal/environmental/economic/moral problems.

overthecliff
overthecliff
April 25, 2019 12:38 pm

What asshole blew the whistle on poisoning the mohammedans and niggers with lead?

Anonymous
Anonymous
April 26, 2019 5:13 am

Don’t y’all tire of ‘revisionist’ history from this lib-tard history site? Then the site has to ‘just gotta’ tell us it was the poor oppressed ‘african americans’, we dismissed their concerns because they were all poor blacks. Corretion to the shitstory.com site: our black bretheren VOTED for their corrupt ‘city officials’ (idiots)which they had serving them in Flint, MI – just like west philly, baltimore, cleveland – pick your hell-hole.