Flint Water Crisis by Leo Manring by Leo Manring

Sources

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https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know

https://www.cdc.gov/casper/php/publications-links/flint-water-crisis.html

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4479

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mje/2020/11/16/financial-impact-of-the-flint-water-crisis/

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/05/582482024/lethal-pneumonia-outbreak-caused-by-low-chlorine-in-flint-water

Flint, Michigan Water Crisis

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On April 25, 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, changed its municipal water supply source from Lake Huron (which supplies Detroit) to the Flint River. This switch caused the water distribution supply pipes to corrode and leech lead into their water.

What happened?

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In 2014, Flint, Michigan, switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. They switched this because it would save the government money. This switch caused the water pipes in the area to corrode and begin to leech lead into the water. Residents started to complain of symptoms after drinking the water but were ignored and turned away by the government. After continuous complaints by the residents of Flint Michigan, the government investigated. They found that the water in some homes had levels of lead as high as 13,200 ppb (parts per billion), compared to the acceptable levels of 15 ppb. In October of 2016, residents were told not to drink the water unless filtered through an NSF filter, certified to filter out lead. On January 16, 2016, a state of emergency was declared in Flint.

How did it impact people?

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While the lead poisoning from Flint water did not directly kill anyone, it had major consequences to the people of Flint. From 2014-2019, the residents of Flint complained of bad tasting, discolored water coming from their pipes along with symptoms including rashes, hair loss, and itchy skin after drinking the water. The AJPH research group study in 2015, revealed that "The contaminated water was contributing to a doubling -and even in some cases tripling- of the incidence of elevated blood levels in the city's children." The water in Flint contributed to a higher rate of depression, PTSD, and other behavioral issues in Adults. Many adults also contracted a lethal from of pneumonia or Legionnaire's disease. 12 people died and 64 were hospitalized, according to the CDC. The children of Flint were significantly impacted by this event as well. They presented with higher levels of behavioral issues, developmental delays, speech disorders, and fetal deaths.

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How did it impact economics?

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The Flint water crisis had a devastating impact of the economy of Flint. The lead in the water caused property values in Flint Michigan to decline by over $500 billion combined. According to the American Economics Association, "The value of Flint's housing stock feel by an estimated $520 million due to the crisis." Additionally, the federal government spent over $400 million in efforts to fix the infrastructure and clean the water in Flint. This caused the city of Flint to fall further into poverty than it already was. The city has struggled to recover economically, housing costs continue to stay low, and economic hardships are still prominent in the city.

How did it impact the environment?

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According to the University of Michigan news, the Flint water crisis had many detrimental impacts on the environment. The main environmental impact was the leeching of lead into the water supply. Not only the water supply of Flint was contaminated, but the lead pipes contaminated the Flint River itself. The contamination in the river impacted it's ecosystem, harming the organisms who live there and their predators. This contamination also impacted other bodies of water that the Flint River flows into including the Chattahoochee river and the Apalachicola river. Since this incident is so recent, long term effects on the environment are still being studied. But scientists have found that the lead leeched into the water has already had many lasting negative environmental effects.

How was this issue addressed?

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The Flint water crisis is considered by many to be and environmental injustice. An environmental injustice is defined as the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on minority and low- income communities. The response by the government to this crisis was very delayed and the Michigan Civil Rights Commission concluded that the poor response was due to a result of systemic racism. Flint Michigan is a relatively poor community with around 57-58% of the community made up of African Americans. Therefore the government was much slower to prioritize the infrastructure and health of citizens in Flint. It took the government of Flint, Michigan almost a year to respond to complaints from citizens and almost 2 years to enact a plan and declare a state of emergency for Flint. This issue was not well delt with and because of that, its effects are still being felt today.

Anthropocentric approach

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The Flint Michigan crisis was not addressed well but what was addressed resembled a more anthropocentric approach to environmental harm. After residents of Flint Michigan protested about their water, resembling an ecocentric approach, the government took action. New laws were passed aimed at improving infrastructure, and providing support to effected residents but not all were passed through congress. The pipes were replaced after about 2 years and the laws enacted continue to help residents.

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Why is this event important?

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The Flint Michigan water crisis is historically important for revealing many widespread issues throughout environmental history. This crisis highlighted how problems of environmental injustice effect communities. More than half of the residents of Flint are African Americans and therefore did not receive as much help as a predominantly white community would have received. This event also showcased infrastructure failure because of aging public infrastructure. Flint made water quality and access a major national concern and brought to light issues with drinking water in poor areas all over the country. It also brought to light many public health concerns in the area.

How did it change human perception?

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The Flint water crisis has changed the way many people view the environment because it showed us how fragile and connected our water supply is. For example, clean drinking water used to be something that most people in the US took for granted and with the Flint Michigan crisis it became a unsafe which forced many people to reconsider their previous perceptions. This allowed people to being to see that environmental safety isn't always guaranteed and it needs to be protected by our regulations. This crisis also reshaped human responsibility. It reveled to many that governments may seem to have everything put together in terms of environmental laws, but under the surface they might not. When leaders failed to keep their communities safe, people started to realize that it is everyone's collective responsibility to care for the environment and make sure that crisis's, like the on in Flint Michigan, don't happen again.

Fun Facts

818141 — 2025-08-24 18:42:58 UTC

The water in Flint wasn't just contaminated with lead. There were other bacteria's including Legionnaires’ disease (a severe type of pneumonia) leeched into the water as well.
This crisis lasted years. Even after Flint switched back to clean water, residents had to rely on bottled water handouts and filters for many years.
The Flint crisis led to many criminal charges in government officials including the former Michigan governor, Rick Snyder.

Similar case (Jackson, Mississippi)

818141 — 2025-08-24 18:57:12 UTC

A similar water crisis happened in Jackson, Mississippi in 2022. After major floods and pump failures, the predominantly black capital of Mississippi had over 150,000 residents left with no running water. Unlike the Flint crisis, the water in this area was not contaminated, but this issue also helps to highlight environmental injustice in minority communities. Both residents in Flint and Jackson, faced government resistance when seeking help in times of need, highlighting an underlying issue when it comes to environmental injustice.