The water crisis in Michigan goes on… Flint made national news starting in 2014 after attempting to reduce costs and switched its supply of water to the Flint river. Coliform bacteria were found in municipal water supply, prompting a boil water advisory and increase in chlorine in the water. The city opted to continue to use Flint river water despite multiple warnings and ultimately the EPA issued a memo in 2015 titled “High Lead Levels in Flint.” High lead levels were found in 40% of homes by a team from Virginia Tech and they recommended that the water was not safe for drinking or cooking. The city of Flint eventually decided to switch its water supply to Detroit, but a state of emergency had been declared, the national guard was mobilized to provide water to Flint residents and the damage was done. In April, 2018 the governor of Michigan announced that water quality had finally been restored.
In August, 2018 while Flint continues to try and restore faith in its water supply, Detroit families learn that the entire Detroit Public School District is shutting off drinking water to all of its schools. High levels of heavy metals had been found in a significant number of schools prompting this action in a school district that serves over 50,000 students. Both lead and copper leach in to drinking water primarily through corroded pipes and other plumbing fixtures according to the EPA. No amount of lead in the human body is safe according to the Center for Disease Control and injury can range from upset stomach to brain damage. Children are particularly susceptible because of their smaller size and developing systems/brains.
C’MON MICHIGAN!