I've been seeing this plastered all over my Facebook page but haven't really read what was going on, just keep seeing pics of disgusting yellow water. Can't believe this wasn't fixed immediately after it was discovered.
Flint had purchased its drinking water from Detroit Water for decades. Costs continued to escalate. Detroit's costs went up and those costs were passed on to Flint. Flint is largely minority, with well over half the population living below the poverty level. Once a thriving auto industry community, there are abandoned manufacturing plants and dilapidated neighborhoods. Crime rates have soared. Due to less than half the people paying a part of the cost to operate the City, that also contributed to high water bills for those who could pay. Minimum monthly water costs were well over $100. Flint's governing body decided to join with some other communities and form a regional water district. Some studies indicated that significant dollars could be saved by leaving Detroit as the water supply and chartering the new regional district. Notice was given to Detroit Water that Flint would be leaving as a customer. In an attempt to retain the revenue stream from Flint, Detroit gave Flint something like 30 days to say they would remain a customer. Flint told Detroit to go pound sand. Detroit, then, raised the water rates... some say 100%. The new regional water source would not be ready to supply water until late 2016 or early 2017. So, to save money, Flint told Detroit they would resurrect an old treatment plant and take water from the Flint River until the regional district was able to supply water... rather than pay the escalated rates. Again, with all the years of auto manufacturers dumping industrial waste into the Flint River and stormwater runoff from closed and decaying manufacturing plants, the Flint River is a cesspool of lead, other heavy metals, caustics, etc. So, the water was unable to be treated to a level where it was safe to drink. In fact, they couldn't even get it close to consumable. To indicate how bad, an auto parts manufacturer in Flint closed up after the switch to Flint River water because the steel parts they were building were caked with rust hours after washing. Almost immediately, people began complaining about their potable water. The governing body had made the decision to not pay the higher fees and return to Detroit Water. So, they turned a blind eye to the issue and thought it would go away once the new water source was on line. The water was undrinkable and even bathing in it was a health hazard. People complained to the State and to the Regional office of the EPA. No one would listen. The water continued getting worse and worse. Today, Flint is back on Detroit Water still waiting for the regional district to come on line. It will take weeks... probably months... to flush all the lead and caustic out of the existing distribution lines. Some supply lines may never have all the contaminates flushed out of them. What could have been easily averted with some negotiation between Detroit Water and the City of Flint has become a health and welfare disaster. This will take billions to clean up. (I believe that is a pretty close synopsis without attempting to blame a single political party or specific person. There are many who are contributory to this man-made disaster.)
They made it illegal to help yourself. You are not allowed to catch rain or drill a well. This country is becoming a real prison when if you help yourself it is a crime. They think you need to be poisoned and put up with it.
Contaminated water can really be a killer. Would you believe that we had found mosquito larvae in our drinking water? We have the delivered from the local water store here that sells purified water in 5-gallon plastic bottles. That is the 3rd store. We quit the first one when we found some sediments in the water. The second store had a delivery problem so we shifted to the 3rd. And now this is worse because a mosquito larva is a sure sign of dirty water. We recently bought a water purifier, not to save money but to be assured of clean water for drinking.
Today on The View on ABC Michael Moore a special guest star came Flint. He spoke about the whole situation from the beginning! It's shocking, frightening and how happen here in America! A year, a whole year the Legislature of Flint let the situation go on! It should never have happened in the first place!