Anger. Sorrow. Disbelief. These are some of the emotions experienced by residents of Flint, Michigan when they discovered the quality of their water had deteriorated to the point it was making them ill. They wanted justice. They wanted those responsible to be jailed. What was the cause of such a horrible incident? Did the federal government know about it and would they help? Was this an isolated incident?
In April of 2014, the mayor of Flint, Michigan switched the city’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River. The complaints began almost as soon as the water hit the homes of residents. It took nine months to discover part of the problem was cleaning products in the water. It took longer to determine the much larger issue.
The nation’s water system was built with lead pipes decades ago. An additive has been added to the water supply all across the country ever since to prevent the pipes from deteriorating. Flint, Michigan had not been putting enough of this additive into their water to prevent pipe deterioration. Two other Michigan cities, Madison and Lansing, also quit adding the orthophosphate to their water citing “Adding the lead binding chemical to the city's water would cost money, burden wastewater treatment facilities with its removal, and still add phosphorus to the lakes” (Bodin2). Instead, they replaced all the piping their city was responsible for. Individual residents would be responsible for changing the pipes on their own property. Neither city needed to pass the costs of this upgrade off to the consumer, finding other ways to fund the multi-mullion dollar projects.
Bodin stated the second industrial revolution, about 150 years ago, spawned the construction of the nation’s drinking water using cast iron water mains with a life span of 130 years (2). Bodin continues that a second boom occurred about 70 years ago using steel, asbestos and concrete with a 70-100-year life span (2). Both systems are now failing across the country. While Flint, Michigan made a lot of headlines, many more cities, towns and municipalities will make the headlines in the future over the poor water quality their public works provides.
The EPA was established in 1970 and the first laws regarding clean water were established in 1972 (Clean Water Act) and 1974 (Safe Drinking Water Act). This established guidelines, at a federal level, requirements for states and local governments to follow to ensure Americans had access to clean and safe water.
Buckley et al described the history of the aging infrastructure even more. Included in this description is who is responsible for what when it comes to our drinking water being clean. The EPA understood the dangers of lead and copper piping to the nation’s water supply and put together a working group to figure out how to fix the looming crisis before it becomes a crisis. In August of 2015, the working group established “The LCR (Lead and Copper Rule) should enforce the replacement of lead service lines, following the principle that there is no safe level of lead” (Buckley et al) and “States should include the cost of replacing lead service lines in the criteria for allocating Drinking Water State Revolving Funds” (Buckley et al).
What this means is, though the residents of Flint, Michigan are calling for prosecution of those responsible for their poor water, the guidelines of who was responsible were not yet established in terms of the piping. When those who are in charge don’t understand the consequences of their actions nor are the guidelines clear as to the impact of certain actions, how can one be punished? It should be noted, however, now that these guidelines have been published, as the infrastructure continues to fail nation-wide, those who fail to take action may be prosecuted. While nothing will quell the anger of Flint’s residents, leaders across the nation should consider the level of anger when what happened to Flint’s water supply begins to cascade. Do our elected leaders really want that level of anger directed at them? It is time to stop poisoning our people.
Works Cited
Bodin, Madeline. “Deep Trouble”. Planning, Chicago. American Planning Association. Vol 82,
Issue 9. Oct 2016. Pg 12-19 Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1829463927?accountid=8289
Buckley, Patricia, Gunnion, Lester, and Sarni, Will. “The aging water infrastructure: Out of sight, out of mind?” Deloitte Insights. Issues by the Numbers, March 21, 2016.
https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/economy/issues-by-the-numbers/us-aging-water-infrastructure-investment-opportunities.html
In April of 2014, the mayor of Flint, Michigan switched the city’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River. The complaints began almost as soon as the water hit the homes of residents. It took nine months to discover part of the problem was cleaning products in the water. It took longer to determine the much larger issue.
The nation’s water system was built with lead pipes decades ago. An additive has been added to the water supply all across the country ever since to prevent the pipes from deteriorating. Flint, Michigan had not been putting enough of this additive into their water to prevent pipe deterioration. Two other Michigan cities, Madison and Lansing, also quit adding the orthophosphate to their water citing “Adding the lead binding chemical to the city's water would cost money, burden wastewater treatment facilities with its removal, and still add phosphorus to the lakes” (Bodin2). Instead, they replaced all the piping their city was responsible for. Individual residents would be responsible for changing the pipes on their own property. Neither city needed to pass the costs of this upgrade off to the consumer, finding other ways to fund the multi-mullion dollar projects.
Bodin stated the second industrial revolution, about 150 years ago, spawned the construction of the nation’s drinking water using cast iron water mains with a life span of 130 years (2). Bodin continues that a second boom occurred about 70 years ago using steel, asbestos and concrete with a 70-100-year life span (2). Both systems are now failing across the country. While Flint, Michigan made a lot of headlines, many more cities, towns and municipalities will make the headlines in the future over the poor water quality their public works provides.
The EPA was established in 1970 and the first laws regarding clean water were established in 1972 (Clean Water Act) and 1974 (Safe Drinking Water Act). This established guidelines, at a federal level, requirements for states and local governments to follow to ensure Americans had access to clean and safe water.
Buckley et al described the history of the aging infrastructure even more. Included in this description is who is responsible for what when it comes to our drinking water being clean. The EPA understood the dangers of lead and copper piping to the nation’s water supply and put together a working group to figure out how to fix the looming crisis before it becomes a crisis. In August of 2015, the working group established “The LCR (Lead and Copper Rule) should enforce the replacement of lead service lines, following the principle that there is no safe level of lead” (Buckley et al) and “States should include the cost of replacing lead service lines in the criteria for allocating Drinking Water State Revolving Funds” (Buckley et al).
What this means is, though the residents of Flint, Michigan are calling for prosecution of those responsible for their poor water, the guidelines of who was responsible were not yet established in terms of the piping. When those who are in charge don’t understand the consequences of their actions nor are the guidelines clear as to the impact of certain actions, how can one be punished? It should be noted, however, now that these guidelines have been published, as the infrastructure continues to fail nation-wide, those who fail to take action may be prosecuted. While nothing will quell the anger of Flint’s residents, leaders across the nation should consider the level of anger when what happened to Flint’s water supply begins to cascade. Do our elected leaders really want that level of anger directed at them? It is time to stop poisoning our people.
Works Cited
Bodin, Madeline. “Deep Trouble”. Planning, Chicago. American Planning Association. Vol 82,
Issue 9. Oct 2016. Pg 12-19 Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1829463927?accountid=8289
Buckley, Patricia, Gunnion, Lester, and Sarni, Will. “The aging water infrastructure: Out of sight, out of mind?” Deloitte Insights. Issues by the Numbers, March 21, 2016.
https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/economy/issues-by-the-numbers/us-aging-water-infrastructure-investment-opportunities.html