Flint Water Crisis

The episode discusses the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and how the government played a role in it. In 2013, Flint officials switched their water source to the Flint River without treating it properly, leading to lead contamination. Residents noticed issues with the water, including color and smell, and by 2015, it was found that lead levels exceeded the legal limit. The government didn't take the issue seriously and even excluded lead-level samples in their reports. Eventually, the water supply was switched back, but the community suffered greatly. This is an example of environmental injustice and should not be allowed to happen again. Hey, everyone. Welcome to SM. Not AM, not FM, but SM. I'm here with my guest, Eric Kwon. Hey, guys. Today's episode will be discussing the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. I feel like a lot of people know about the aftermath, but not much about how it started or how much of a role the government played knowingly. What do you know about Flint? Honestly, not much about how it started, but I remember the news about lead poisoning and local outrage. I mean, it was on national news for years. When we talk about environmental injustice, this is literally it. Exactly what I was thinking, and that's actually why I ended up wanting to talk about it today. So, yeah, it all really started in 2013 when Flint city officials in Michigan decided to switch their water providers from Detroit Water and Sewage Department to the Karigandi Water Authority. The thing was, until they officially switched to the Karigandi Water Authority, they needed an interim water source, and that ended up being the Flint River. I think problem number one is that officials didn't immediately treat the Flint River water to ensure that it didn't cause corrosion, you know, in the pipes. Instead, they took what the Michigan Radio characterized as a wait-and-see approach. This is where the lead was introduced, right? I remember extensive talk of lead being in their water, and we're talking mid-2014 at this point, right? Yeah, this is about May 2014. Residents began to complain about the color and the smell of their water, and by August, they detect E. coli and total coliform bacteria. Oh, I think I know what that is. You know, bacteria that basically tells you if the water has been contaminated by waste or not, right? Right. So at this point, it's abundantly clear that the water has been contaminated. By the beginning of 2015, Flint was found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act because of the total level of trihalomethanes, or TTHM, in their water. Oh, wow. The CDC even says that some types of TTHM are carcinogens for humans. It's crazy. Yeah, and by February, it's become apparent that lead contamination has occurred. Michigan Radio did multiple reports at this point, and one resident says her home turned up with a lead content of 104 parts per billion. I mean, do you know what the legal limit is? 15 parts per billion, right? That's the EPA's limit for lead in drinking water. Right, and at this point, it's really too late. The Michigan State Agency notifies the EPA that the Flint did not implement corrosion controls, yet Michigan's Department of Environmental Equality doesn't seem to be taking this too seriously. I remember a news about this spokesperson from their department literally saying that, quote, people concerned about the lead in drinking water in Flint can relax. I remember that so clearly. It's so belittling. There's solid evidence of, may I add, extremely heightened levels of lead in water, and they're acting like it's not a big deal. And they know it's solid evidence because by August 2015, the Michigan Department of Environmental Equality releases an official report, and they exclude the lead-level samples. The Michigan Radio reports that if the state had just dropped one high sample, Flint would have been over the federal action level. But by dropping two of their samples, it put them below the action level. I remember they didn't take samples from homes, but instead businesses and other places. It was corrupt. It was corrupt. Yet the Michigan Department of Environmental Equality denies this. A spokesperson said, I don't know how they're getting the results they're getting. I know that it doesn't match with any of the other surveillance in the area. And it's all kinds of spirals from here. A study from their local medical center began to identify lead levels in children, and then the city issued a city lead advisory, and by October, they switched back to the Detroit water supply. In December, the mayor declared a state of emergency, and eventually state officials resigned. There were a slew of lawsuits, criminal charges, and a plethora of government action taken against the officials that willfully neglected what was happening. But at what cost? The community's livelihood has been rocked, and fines aren't going to change that. This is environmental injustice. In the name of saving money, the state of Michigan allowed one of its most vulnerable, racially marginalized groups to take the fall. We cannot let this repeat.