The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis that occurred in the city of Flint, Michigan. It lasted over two years (April 2014 – June 2016) and took away at least 12 lives, sickening dozens more people. The main issue was centered around Flint’s municipal water supply system – the drinking water had a high concentration of lead; in addition, it contained dangerous microorganisms.
The city of Flint was a thriving industrial center in the third quarter of the last century; however, it had economic difficulties due to the closure of several General Motors factories in the 1980s and 90s. In 2002, a financial emergency was declared in the city, but, unfortunately, to no effect. It led to the appointment of several emergency managers in 2011 to run the city without a proper election (charged by the governor of Michigan). These managers worked under the direct jurisdiction of the Michigan State treasury department and had nothing to do with the citizens of Flint. As one of the cost-saving measures, they decided to change the city’s water supplier to the Flint River, with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department being the previous. This change was made in April 2014, closely followed by residents’ raising concerns about water quality.
After the back-and-forth attempts to properly study the supplied water and public announcements about the water’s purity from Michigan’s department of environmental quality, the truth was finally uncovered in 2015. The water was proved to contain a high lead concentration – almost 25 times higher than the level that required taking action. Moreover, the spread of legionnaires disease was also connected to the water supply contamination. Flint’s newly elected mayor announced the state of emergency, organizing the drinking water distribution by the national guard. The primary blame was put on Michigan’s department of environmental quality; consequent charges included lying to police, the obstruction of justice, and involuntary manslaughter.
The Flint water crisis pictures a disturbing story of the economical and financial preferences’ victory over the concern for public health. The economic downturn pressed the authorities to develop cost-saving measures, which put the financial interests above everything else. However, the most disturbing part of the crisis is the resistance to investigating the matter. It prolonged the public exposure to contaminated water and increased the damage done to public health.