By: Julia Michaelson
Lead is breaking down more than just pipes.
Back in 2014, Flint, Michigan switched their water source to the Flint River: a very polluted river. Chemicals in the water were able to break down old lead pipes that were used for families’ drinking water. People had no idea what was going on. They didn’t realize that they were drinking the water that had lead in it. Once people discovered the lead, they took action.
What follows is a timeline of events surrounding the Flint water crisis.
April 2014
Flint, Michigan switched the water source to the Flint river. The water originally came from the Detroit River. Darnell Earley, State Emergency Manager, decided this would be the best thing for Flint.
He had the authority to override this decision, but instead he was in favor of the switch. This had to due with saving money.
Summer 2014
People who lived in Flint began to question the water they were drinking. Some people stated that there were unappealing smells and tints to the water. People were not educated on what Lead and E Coli. looks like in water. The chemicals can lead to chronic sickness, brain defects, and sometimes even fatal outcomes.
According to Mother Jones , a nonprofit news organization, people weren’t happy since there were many reports of people with rashes and hair loss. Those health issues were later found to be related to the water.
August/September 2014
The water was tested and high levels of E. Coli were found. Since boiling water kills bacteria, like E. Coli, residents were told to boil their water then use it. Lead is not able to be cleaned by boiling water.
The lead filled water had been consumed already by almost all of the population by this point. Families with young children later learned that their children would experience brain defects.
October 2014
Workers of General Motors claimed that the water corroded metal engine parts. Due to that, General Motors stated it will not be using Flint’s water in their plants. According to CBS News 21, that same day Genesee County officials made a statement saying don’t drink Flint River water.
“Flint residents need safe, clean water, and they need accurate information about their health and their homes,” said David Murray. Murray is Governor Rick Snyder’s deputy press secretary. Officials tried to reach out to Snyders office for a comment, but he never responded.
January 2015
On January 2, a warning to all Flint residents went out about unhealthy substances found in their drinking water. Trihalomethanes, a water-disinfectant chemical, was one of these substances. This can lead to kidney, liver, and nerve damage.
Five days later officials brought clean water for most of the resident because they didn’t want people drinking the water. Even though this is a step in the right direction, it wasn’t actually correcting the problem.
Later that week there was an offer to reconnect the water back to the original source. Emergency Manager Early rejected this offer. A day later, Early resigned, and he is now the Emergency Manager of Detroit Public Schools. Jerry Ambrose took Early’s position.
On the 21st of that month, Flint Residents showed up at the town hall meeting. People complained about loss of vision, hair and memory. They also complained about rashes.
Resident of Flint, LeeAnne Walters, brought 2 water bottles to the meeting. They were filled with water from her sink. One was a brown color and the other was yellow. Walters showed these water bottles to Ambrose in hope that he would see how bad it actually is.
February 2015
Governor Snyder gave Flint $2 million on February 3 to help correct the water problem. Nothing was done to improve the system.
After Walters repeatedly complained about rashes on her kids, she forced the city to test her water. She found out that it contained 104 parts per billion (ppb) of lead. According to the Washington Post, there should only be a maximum of 15 ppb in tap water.
The only thing the city did was offer to connect her pipes to a neighbor’s house. Later she informed Miguel Del Tora, EPA’s Midwest water manger, about the water crisis. She explained that the water was awful, and city officials weren’t taking action.
The pipes should have been replaced. Old lead pipes are not safe. These lead pipes were too damaged and broken down from the polluted water. The public had no idea at the time that this was happening.
Officials would flush out the pipes before testing the water to get better results. Flushing the pipes took away the possibility of lead showing up in the pipes. This was brought to the public’s attention when contacting the EDA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
March 2015
Almost all of the water tested was tampered with because it had been taken from flushed out pipes. This allows for a cleaner test. In reality, accurate tests revealed 400 ppb of lead in the water. High levels of lead were blamed on homes internal pipes.
On the 24th of March, a city council tried to pass a bill that would do everything possible to fix the water crisis. It would allow for water to come from the Detroit River instead of the Flint River.
Three days later, a blood test came out to the public of Walter’s four children. Not only had the test revealed that they all had been exposed to lead, but it also showed that his youngest son, 4 at the time, had lead poisoning.
April 2015
Many outside officials were afraid that the lead levels were higher than expected due to test being from flushed out pipes. After these accusations were made, Marc Edwards, a professor at Virginia Tech, had his own test done without flushed pipes.
Edwards found out that there were lead levels of 13,200 ppb. According to the EPA, this is classified as hazardous waste. Ambrose left his position.
July 2015
More homes were found with high lead levels, and the public was infuriated. Toral’s reports were claimed to be incorrect by Susa Hedman ,EPA’s Midwest division director, who claimed only the Walter’s home had high levels of lead. On top of this, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MHHS) claimed that changes in the lead levels are expected every so often.
September 2015
Studies reviewed that the Flint River was 19 times more corrosive compared to the Detroit River. About 1/6 of homes in Flint had high levels of lead. MDEQ disagreed and tried to claim this accusation was false.
According to Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician, 5% of children have high levels of lead in their body.
Some of those kids had double and tripled since the water switch. MDEQ denies the research again. “How can you not second-guess yourself,” Hanna-Attisha told the New York Times.
Another lead warning was released in Flint that month. The message stated again that people should boil their water before using and consuming it.
October 2015
Governor Snyder said that water was safe to drink. However, he also stated that homes with lead pipes may have higher lead levels.
On October 8, 2015, schools in Flint were found to have high levels of lead in the water. A week later, the city switched back to the Detroit River for their water source. Dan Wyatt, director of MDEQ, claimed it was a mistake when testing and working with the city water.
November 2015
On the 16th, lawyers presented a lawsuit. Flint residents sued Snyder and Wyant for the lead filled water. Lawyers sued on behalf of all residents who did and will experience health problems in the future.
December 2015
At the end of December, the lawsuit was focused more on targeting the MDEQ. Snyder was able to remove himself by looking into the water crisis and educating himself about it. Residents were concerned about this and spoke out stating that, “The agency’s response was often one of aggressive dismissal, belittlement, and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved.”
Wyant, MDEQ director, later resigned.
January 2016
A state of emergency for Genesee County was declared again by Snyder. Bottle waters were recommended to be used by the state’s chief medical adviser so Snyder issues National Guard to distribute bottled water throughout the area.
10 people had died from Legionnaires disease in Flint. According to Medicine Net, Legionnaires disease is caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila. It travels by mist in the air. More cases were later discovered in Genesee County.
A state of emergency was declared by President Barack Obama. During the Democratic debate Senator Hillary Clinton said, “I’ll tell you what, if the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would’ve been action.” Bernie Sanders said that Snyder should resign.
February 2016
EPA’s regional administrator for Flint, Susan Hedman, resigned. Many officials thought Hedmans resignation should have taken place beforehand.
Karen Weaver, Flint Mayer, took on a 55 million dollar project in order to remove lead pipes from the city. Snyder’s help was needed for this project, but the proposal was not accepted. Virginia Tech research group claimed the lead levels were much better, but people should keep drinking bottled waters.
Snyder admitted being responsible for not letting the residents know about the water. Documents were released showing that the governor’s office was warned about the effects that Flint’s could have on residents.
April 2016
Mike Glasgow, supervisor of Flint’s water treatment plant, was charged by the state environment officials. Glasgow is being accused of tampering with evidence. The water tests were skewed by Glasgow in order to make the lead levels seem lower.
Stephen Bush and Mike Prysby, workers at Flint’s water treatment plant, are being charged with evidence tampering as well. Bush and Prysby also violated the Safe Water Drinking Act.
Now: Hershey, PA
Hershey does have lead pipes. No one knows if the water in a house is clean unless it is tested.
Pennsylvania American Water provides the drinking water for Derry Township. Their annual water quality report is available online.
The Broadcaster also was provided water testing reports by Derry Township School District’s Director of Buildings and Grounds Brian Varvel. We have made them available here and here. Simply put, both the report from American Water as well as those done by DTSD show that no lead, e coli or other contaminants are in the school’s water. DTSD conducts a regular testing schedule according to Varvel.
Additionally The Broadcaster purchased a home water test from KAR Laboratories, Inc. Science and Technology Editor Julia Michaelson performed the test in March 2016. The results of the water test are here. The results from this independent test showed no detectable levels of any contaminants.
To ensure the safety of our water supply, strict independent testing with high standards of quality is needed. Honesty from government agencies—wether they be federal, state or local—is needed. Without both… how can consumers know the water is truly safe?
The Broadcaster discusses with Kimberly Haney, Chemistry teacher at HHS, the issues surrounding Flint’s water crisis and why someone should get their water tested. Additionally we provide a simple tutorial of how to do a home water test.
