Flint, Michigan, one of the biggest cities in the state, has poisonous drinking water contaminated by led. Corroding led pipes are the reason for most of the contamination.The contaminated water has caused an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease affecting 87 people, 10 of them who have died. Flint was once dependent on Detroit's water, but Detroit stopped selling water to Flint in April of 2014. Flint has plans to join the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline from Port Huron, and hoped the switch to the Flint River would be temporary and easy.
The city of Flint has known that the water is unsafe to drink since 2014 and has called on state leaders, especially Governor Snyder to help. Within weeks of the switch in April of 2014, from the Detroit River to the Flint River, the city was receiving complaints about the poor smelling and tasting water. Soon citizens were told to boil their water before drinking it. With time more people heard about the crisis and tried to help. Throughout the summer of 2015 many religious and community leaders aided the people in Flint with water filters and bottles, but the state still refused to act.
The water in Flint has continued to get more and more contaminated to the point it is brown and reeks of sulfur and metal. People have now been warned not to use the water at all. Many people and organizations including Cher and New Era Detroit have come to the aid of Flint bringing in thousands of water bottles. Many people across the country are stepping in to help the residents of Flint, but the biggest question is why has it taken the state so long to take action?
Michigan governor, Governor Rick Snyder, has known about Flint water since 2014 and refused to act until recently. On October 1st, Genessee County declared a state of emergency and urged the governor to declare one. Snyder did not declare one until last week. It was not until October 2015 when Governor Snyder started taking action in Flint committing millions of dollars to fix the problem and help the people. The city is almost 2 years into the crisis and the state is finally doing all it can.
The state did not act when it should have and it has not gone unnoticed by the people across the world, or government leaders. People on social media are outraged by pictures and stories of Flint's water and what it has done to it's citizens. Many are calling to impeach Governor Snyder for his neglect of the city. Michigan's Attorney General, Bill Schutte, will be conducting an investigation stating, "The situation in Flint is a human tragedy in which families are struggling with even the most basic parts of daily life. While everyone acknowledges that mistakes were made, my duty as attorney general requires that I conduct this investigation."
A class action lawsuit has also been filed against the state of Michigan, the city of Flint, Governor Rick Snyder for negligence in the Flint water crisis saying that all parties were well aware of the contaminated water and waited to take action. Many say that this situation was constantly swept under the rug until the pile was too big and people were forced to act. It is barbaric that a city in the United States has not had access to clean drinking water for almost 2 years, and it is time that the citizens of Flint are no longer pushed aside. They deserve better. The crisis is a result of pure neglect and all parties involved should have to pay.
