...Powerpoint Project The Flint Water Crisis The Flint water crisis is a drinking water contamination issue in Flint, Michigan that started in April 2014. After Flint changed its water source from treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water to the Flint River, its drinking water had a series of problems with lead contamination, creating a serious public health danger. One rumor is said that the reason for the change in water source was because that in mid-2014 the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department had acquired a significant debt and delinquent accounts and talks of privatization were occurring. It was also cheaper to pull water from a near-by river instead of using outside resources. When officials decided on the change, they failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the source. The failed application of corrosion inhibitor: Orthophosphate. A corrosion inhibitor is a chemical compound that, when added to a liquid or gas, it decreases the corrosion rate of a material; in this case metal pipes. Not only were corrosion inhibitors not used but officials failed to realize, was that the Flint River itself was also found to contain EIGHT times more chloride than Detroit’s water. Chloride is highly corrosive to metals. The lacking inhibitors and the corrosive Flint River water caused lead from aging pipes to dissolve into the water supply, causing extremely elevated levels of the heavy metal. No not Metalica. Aging Pipes? Most residents in Flint have decades-old lead service...
Words: 874 - Pages: 4
...Flint, Michigan Water Crisis Currently in the city of Flint, Michigan they are experiencing a crisis—their entire water supply has been contaminated. Since April 2014, after the city changed its water source from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to water straight from the Flint River, this has exposed the public to great health risks. The heavy lead contamination within the river has been leached from aging pipes and into the water supply, making it dangerous for consumption and use. The NAACP, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has stated that they will give 30 days for the problem to be fixed. If the people of Flint speak out and engage in “civil disobedience” after no progress with the situation in the next 30 days, then it will result in the issue being fixed faster. Clean drinking water should not be a problem in the U.S. in this day of age, and it is a shame that it has come down to this in Michigan. In early 2014, Flint made the decision two years ago to switch the water supply to the local water source to save over five million dollars in a two-year period, due to a financial calamity. Unfortunately, things did not work out that way. Two years later, the entire water supply is going to cost over forty-five million dollars to repair and clean from lead contamination caused from aging pipes. A city that has already suffered from poverty and crime now doesn’t have access to safe drinking water. If the state invested $100 a...
Words: 1506 - Pages: 7
...Problem-Solution Analysis The Flint water crisis is an issue which involves the contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan, United States. The crisis started in April 2014 when Flint decided to change its water source to the Flint River from treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water, which was from Lake Huron and the Detroit River. The water of the Flint River is extremely corrosive, so as it travels to Flint, through the city’s old pipes, it ate away at the pipes, absorbing the lead before entering houses. Flint, Michigan’s water crisis is an incident that should not be ignored as it was done in Flint for one and a half year, but instead be dealt with immediately so nothing severe would happen as it did in Flint, Michigan....
Words: 729 - Pages: 3
...news. The article titled EPA Urges Flint Residents To Stop Dumping Tap Water Down Drain, was published to The Onion on April 28, 2016 to mock the heavily publicized water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The Onion criticizes the governmental lack of concern for their people by creating a “government on the losing end” situation. In some satires, it may be said that over exaggerations are made in an attempt to point out major flaws within the situation, but this is not the case within this article. First is point about the health and safety risks for the infrastructure and ecosystem, and it is directly related to public health and safety. Having water coming from the river was detrimental to both humans and the piping in Flint, as the high levels of chlorine and lime created a chemical reaction within the lead pipes. This goes hand in hand with the disposal of the tap water, where the article states that “the waste treatment facilities are not capable of purifying the corrosive liquid..” The same was true in Flint, as the waste treatment plants were only putting lime into the water in an attempt to make it softer, which could have possibly made the lead situation worse. Second is the press release statement to alert everyone in Flint of the issue. It took a very long time for anyone in Flint to become aware of the situation, and public officials continued to brush off the problem until a doctor stepped up. Point three is the advice to store water away from children and pets. This is...
Words: 1117 - Pages: 5
...On January 16, 2016, the city of Flint, Michigan was declared in a state of emergency after it was discovered that the city’s water contained dangerous amounts of lead. After a switch in water supply in April 2014, the number of children in Flint with elevated lead levels in their blood nearly doubled from 2013 to 2015 (Newland 2016). The Flint water crisis attracted national attention and led to a class-action lawsuit filed by city residents. Many Americans were shocked that the land of opportunity could fail the residents of Flint so badly. Many also pointed out that such a problem would not be likely in a more affluent area of the United States. While the United States is not lacking in quality water, the infrastructure delivering water...
Words: 874 - Pages: 4
...throughout history government corruption has been present in numerous countries over the world. Before April 25, 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan acquired their main source of water from Detroit’s water system. However, on the 25th, the city started importing water from the Flint River nearby. This would result in one of the most devastating water crises that the United States has ever seen, filled with scandal, protests, devastating health effects and even federal involvement. The government officials involved in the Flint Water Crisis need to be held more accountable as the catastrophe was a result of their disregard for standard protocol. In order to help the people affected, the local along with the federal government should...
Words: 986 - Pages: 4
...Take a moment and think about the last major crisis that the world took notice of: a terrorist attack or a bombing incident, a school shooting or mass massacre, a political scandal or signs of budding unrest. Now, take a moment and consider how long the world stopped to take notice. In a world filled with frenzied media, trending topics, and news manipulated by fear, it is easy to get caught up in the buzz. The collective mind of modern society jumps from one crisis to another, casting aside old news as soon as the shock value begins to wear off. But this whirlwind of sensationalism has the potential to seriously impact the way the world at large views and responds to crises. Consider, for example, the Flint Water Crisis of 2014. If you were to ask a random person on the street in any given area that was not in or around Flint, Michigan, they would more than likely tell you that the crisis ended a few short months after it began, in April of 2014. This could not be further from the truth. As of January 19th, 2017, Flint had been without clean water for 1,000 days....
Words: 573 - Pages: 3
...You know how everyone takes a shower every day? You know how everyone drinks water everyday? In America, we use water every single day. We use water to bath ourselves, cook, clean, drink, hydrate our animals and so much more. Water is impossible to live without, no hesitation about the topic. If a certain town didn’t have water, it would be impossible to live in that certain town. Recently in Flint, Michigan, a lead water crisis has broke out. According to sources, this water crisis occurred in April 2014. Ever since a change in sources treated from Lake Huron water to the Flint River, the city’s drinking water built up several problems such as lead contamination. This caused a serious health danger to the city’s population. Since there...
Words: 388 - Pages: 2
...When it comes to Flint, Michigan a town that has been in crisis for many years. Once Flint Michigan was a prominent car manufacturing town, but the car manufacturing companies close-up shop and took the car manufacturing factories overseas to save money. When it comes to the water crisis yet again the small town of Flint, Michigan near Detroit was absolutely decimated with health issues and poisoning due to lead and other chemicals found in the water due to local government trying to save money. To know what the initial problem was we needed to know what the government was trying to do. Local government came up with a plan of hiring a individual/emergency manager that can make decisions on local Flint issues without the need of approval of local government. The basic concept an idea that was used was to take Flint, Michigan off the Detroit water system and eventually create a pipeline from Lake Huron to create a cheaper water supply, but until the pipeline was built they would take water from the flint River. Which is properly investigated the idea the government would’ve found these issues in advance but since a non-government agency that they created decided to go with the plan anyways without proper results for studies this incident may not have happened....
Words: 803 - Pages: 4
...condition that Flint is undergoing, it’s very dangerous, after Flint’s switched water supply to save some money, residents started to notice the water was yellow and it smelled like ewer. Residents were told that this was the result of getting used to the new water system and that it was safe. “The Flint water is highly corrosive: 19 times more so than the Lake Huron Supply, according to researcher from Virginia Tech.” “According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department Environmental Quality wasn’t treating the Flint River water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law.” Residents started to complain, their water was brown and some people developed rushed, become sick. The city and state officials told “people to bowl their water before drinking it” which was a mistake which can actually increase the level of lead. Describe how the current Flint water crisis came about....
Words: 619 - Pages: 3
...This book connects to modern society because of the Flint Water Crisis. People who are having to deal with the Flint Water Crisis clearly don’t have to go through as bad circumstances as everyone during the Holocaust, but it connects to it because of how the people of Flint have to be cut off from water just like depending on what camps you were in during the Holocaust, you got cut off from food. The reasons why they got cut off from these things were obviously completely different. People of Flint got cut off from their water because of lead in the water and everyone during the Holocaust got cut off from food because they were Jews and they weren’t being treated as normal humans during this time. The Flint Water Crisis hasn’t killed even close...
Words: 285 - Pages: 2
...Hunter has lived in Flint, Michigan, for the better part of 60 years, but recently things have changed. "You feel like sitting ducks here," said Hunter, a co-owner of the West Flint Flower Shop. She's not referring to the threat of guns or terrorists: Flint residents are afraid of their water. High levels of lead have plagued Flint's municipal water supply for at least a year, prompting extensive emergency measures to keep residents safe. Flint returning to Detroit water amid lead concerns On Tuesday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency for Genesee County as a result of the water crisis. The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Michigan is also investigating, office spokeswoman Gina Balaya...
Words: 811 - Pages: 4
... Sarah Seeley Comp 101 2/22/16 Flint Michigan Lead Exposure (Environmental Racism) The water crisis in Flint, Michigan is instance of environmental racism, because if it were a higher economic, non-minority group of people, this case wouldn’t even be taking place. This issue could have been prevented years ago if not prevented then at least worked on. Imagine if it were New York City? with a more diverse and stable group of individuals. According to the Detroit Free Press majority of all the Flint residents paid water rates. Flint residents paid the highest water rates in America even as their water was tainted with lead, according to a national study released Tuesday by the public interest group Food and Water Watch. A survey of the 500 largest water systems in the country, conducted last year, found that on average, Flint residents paid about $864 a year for water service, nearly double the national average and about three-and-a-half times as much as Detroiters pay. The figure is based on an annual household consumption of 60,000 gallons. Ailene Butler an African activist who lived in Flint for 18-20 years was asked, “why she and her neighbors had not moved away,” Butler pointed out that discriminatory real estate practices particularly redlining had trapped black people in the North End.” So even the residents wanted to escape they were financially trapped. According to the LA times, the flint toxic water crisis was 50 years in the making. Likewise, with...
Words: 1346 - Pages: 6
...Water Management Water management is the management of water resources under set policies and regulations. Water, once an abundant natural resource, is becoming a more valuable commodity due to droughts and overuse. Here are links to articles that address water management subjects such as the optimization of water usage. Obama’s Spending Plan Pumps $260M into Water Technology R&D President Obama’s budget includes almost $260 million to fund a water innovation strategy, which the White House says will boost water sustainability and reduce the price ... February 10, 2016 Produced Water Treatment Technology Combines Separation Equipment, Flocculent from Seaweed A pilot project to test produced water treatment technology is underway in the Middle East. Sorbwater Technology, a Norway-based company that has developed a technology ... February 9, 2016 Meet the Technologies GE, Statoil Say Will Revolutionize Oil & Gas Water Management The latest technologies poised to reduce water usage in onshore oil and gas production, according to General Electric and Statoil, include a ... February 5, 2016 Flint Water Crisis Website Now Includes Interactive Map, Chlorine Sampling Results As the Flint water crisis continues, the EPA has released preliminary water quality data about chlorine levels in Flint’s drinking water, as well as ... February 1, 2016 How to Prevent Another Flint Water Crisis The Flint water crisis, resulting in potentially toxic levels of lead in the city’s...
Words: 796 - Pages: 4
...In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, located nearly 70 miles north of Detroit, decided to switch water sources from Lake Huron to Flint River in order to reduce the water fund shortfall. Since the 1970s, the water located in the Flint River was severely neglected and contaminated due to, “toxic substances, fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen oils, and plant nutrients,” according to the State of Michigan’s DNR. The Department of Environmental Quality in Michigan was not treating the water with an anti-corrosive agent, and since the water wasn’t treated as needed, lead from aging service lines began leaching into the Flint water supply. This lead health effects of lead exposure to become prominent in the community, such as hearing...
Words: 1616 - Pages: 7
