In April of 2014, the Flint, Michigan government changed its water source from Detroit Water and Sewage Department to Flint River. Because the water in the Flint river isn't treated like Detroit Water is, the water began to corrode the pipes, leading to lead poisoning the water. The government however insisted that the water was safe to drink, even though it came out of the tap a brownish-yellow color and many residents had been getting sick. It wasn't until 2016 that the Michigan governor declared a state of emergency and the Obama administration authorized additional help from FEMA and the Department of Homeland security. The water crisis exposed around 8,000 children to lead and an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease that killed 12 people.
Now, almost 6 years later, is Flint water safe to drink? Yes and no. Flint did switch back to the Detroit Water source and is working to replace all service lines to prevent re-contamination. However, many residents still refuse to use the tap water. While studies have shown that the water doesn't have dangerous levels of lead anymore, residents have lost faith in their government due to how long it took for a response to occur and new information suggesting the Michigan governor knew about the crisis earlier than was reported.
Lead is not the only issue residents have with the water. A 2014 study found traces of possible carcinogens in the water. In 2017, the Legionnaire's outbreak was linked to the city water.
There is also a clear racial and socioeconomic layer to this crisis. 45% of Flint's residents live below the poverty line and can't afford to buy bottled water (City Metric). Flint is 57% black, 37% white, 4% Latino and the rest mixed race, according to the US Census (CNN). Many residents strongly believe that racism played a large role in the extended response time and had this happened in a predominantly white city, there would have been immediate action taken.
To help the residents of Flint, Compassion Bands is donating a portion of proceeds made on our Flint Water bracelets to The Water Box. The Water Box was created by Jaden Smith and 501cTHREE to deliver clean, filtered, and tested water to the residents of Flint. To find out more information, visit https://www.501cthree.org/.
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