Water Crisis: The Tragedy In Flint, Michigan

A tragedy has struck the people of Flint, Michigan. One that has come as a great shock to some, but an inevitable occurrence to others. The government that once elected to switch to the polluted waters of Flint is now scrambling to think of solutions to the destruction it has caused. Regardless of what residents thought about switching their water supply from the Detroit river to the Flint River before, it is something that affects everyone now. The tragedy of the Flint Michigan Water Crisis represents failure to recognize the severity of our environmental impact. Now the people of the city are left to live through it and eventually correct the problem. Flint was having severe problems far before it was brought into the spotlight with the
It was clear to them just by looking at the murky water, that the quality was going to be much lower than what they were previously receiving from Lake Huron. The city’s industrial success had done terrible things for the river. Unrestricted dumping lead to toxins and chemicals pooling up in the water that officials now intended for the residents to drink. Even when it was found out that, “the Flint River is highly corrosive: nineteen times more so than the Lake Huron supply,” residents were still assured that everything was being taken care of (Ganim). However, it seems that the way that officials were dealing with the situation was quieting the outspoken residents voicing their concerns. This, instead of spending extra money on an anti-corrosive agent. Problems that could have been avoidable are now shown in full force, and the price that will have to be paid in the aftermath of this crisis will be much higher than if it was dealt with
Again the state government has tried to take control of the situation and has issued filters capable of filtering out the lead in the water. However, as more cases of lead poisoning are being found in Flint it’s becoming clear that these filters are not strong enough to handle the sheer volume of lead in the water. Relief is also coming from people outside the government. Since the entire water distribution system has come into question many are relying on private donors bringing in bottled water. In order to protect themselves from the toxins people have had to change their entire way of life. The mistake of switching to the Flint river has forced its citizens to drink, cook, and even bathe with bottled