flint michigan water crisis essay

Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know

After officials repeatedly dismissed claims that Flint’s water was making people sick, residents took action. Here’s how the lead contamination crisis unfolded—and what we can learn from it.

Fearful of using the tap water to wash their food, Flint residents Melissa and Adam Mays prepare meals with bottled water.

Brittany Greeson

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A story of environmental injustice and bad decision making, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, began in 2014, when the city switched its drinking water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River in a cost-saving move. Inadequate treatment and testing of the water resulted in a series of major water quality and health issues for Flint residents—issues that were chronically ignored, overlooked, and discounted by government officials even as complaints mounted that the foul-smelling, discolored, and off-tasting water piped into Flint homes for 18 months was causing skin rashes, hair loss, and itchy skin. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, a state-established body, concluded that the poor governmental response to the Flint crisis was a “result of systemic racism.”

Later studies would reveal that the contaminated water was also contributing to a doubling—and in some cases, tripling—of the incidence of elevated blood lead levels in the city’s children , imperiling the health of its youngest generation. It was ultimately the determined, relentless efforts of the Flint community —with the support of doctors, scientists, journalists, and citizen activists—that shined a light on the city’s severe mismanagement of its drinking water and forced a reckoning over how such a scandal could have been allowed to happen.

Flint water crisis summary

Flint water crisis update, why is lead-contaminated water bad, beyond flint.

Long before the recent crisis garnered national headlines, the city of Flint was eminently familiar with water woes. For more than a century, the Flint River, which flows through the heart of town, has served as an unofficial waste disposal site for treated and untreated refuse from the many local industries that have sprouted along its shores, from carriage and car factories to meatpacking plants and lumber and paper mills. The waterway has also received raw sewage from the city’s waste treatment plant, agricultural and urban runoff, and toxics from leaching landfills. Not surprisingly, the Flint River is rumored to have caught fire—twice.

As the industries along the river’s shores evolved, so too did the city’s economy. In the mid-20th century, Flint—the birthplace of General Motors—was the flourishing home to nearly 200,000 people, many employed by the booming automobile industry. But the 1980s put the brakes on that period of prosperity, as rising oil prices and auto imports resulted in shuttered auto plants and laid-off workers, many of whom eventually relocated. The city found itself in a precipitous decline: Flint’s population has since plummeted to just 100,000 people, a majority of whom are Black, and about 45 percent of its residents live below the poverty line. Nearly one in six of the city’s homes has been abandoned.

This was the lay of the land in 2011, when Flint, cash-strapped and shouldering a $25 million deficit, fell under state control. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appointed an emergency manager (basically an unelected official chosen to set local policy) to oversee and cut city costs. This precipitated the tragic decision in 2013 to end the city’s five-decade practice of piping treated water for its residents from Detroit in favor of a cheaper alternative: temporarily pumping water from the Flint River until a new water pipeline from Lake Huron was built. Although the river water was highly corrosive, Flint officials failed to treat it, and lead leached out from aging pipes into thousands of homes.

Five-month-old Dakota Erler of Flint gets blood drawn from her heel in order to have her lead levels tested at Carriage Town Ministries in 2016.

Lead levels in Flint water

Soon after the city began supplying residents with Flint River water in April 2014, residents started complaining that the water from their taps looked, smelled, and tasted foul. Despite protests by residents lugging jugs of discolored water, officials maintained that the water was safe. A study conducted the following year by researchers at Virginia Tech revealed the problem: Water samples collected from 252 homes through a resident-organized effort indicated citywide lead levels had spiked, with nearly 17 percent of samples registering above the federal “action level” of 15 parts per billion (ppb), the level at which corrective action must be taken. More than 40 percent measured above 5 ppb of lead, which the researchers considered an indication of a “very serious” problem.

Even more alarming were findings reported in September 2015 by Flint pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha: The incidence of elevated blood-lead levels in children citywide had nearly doubled since 2014—and nearly tripled in certain neighborhoods. As Hanna-Attisha noted, “Lead is one of the most damning things you can do to a child in their entire life-course trajectory.” In Flint, nearly 9,000 children were supplied lead-contaminated water for 18 months.

More problems with Flint water

Flint’s water supply was plagued by more than lead. The city’s switch from Detroit water to the Flint River coincided with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease (a severe form of pneumonia) that killed 12 and sickened at least 87 people between June 2014 and October 2015. The third-largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease recorded in U.S. history—as well as the discovery in 2014 of fecal coliform bacteria in city water—was likely a result of the city’s failure to maintain sufficient chlorine in its water mains to disinfect the water. Ironically, the city’s corrective measure—adding more chlorine without addressing other underlying issues—created a new problem : elevated levels of total trihalomethanes (TTHM), cancer-causing chemicals that are by-products of the chlorination of water.

Flint residents go to court

One of the few bright spots of the Flint water crisis was the response of everyday citizens who, faced with the failure of city, state, and federal agencies to protect them, united to force the government to do its job. On the heels of the release of test results in the fall of 2015 showing elevated lead levels in Flint’s water—and its children— local residents joined with NRDC and other groups to petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to launch an immediate emergency federal response to the disaster. The EPA failed to act, which only spurred residents on.

In early 2016, a coalition of citizens and groups—including Flint resident Melissa Mays, the local group Concerned Pastors for Social Action, NRDC, and the ACLU of Michigan— sued the city and state officials in order to secure safe drinking water for Flint residents. Among the demands of the suit: the proper testing and treatment of water for lead and the replacement of all the city’s lead pipes. In March 2016, the coalition took additional action to address an urgent need, filing a motion to ensure that all residents—including children, the elderly, and others unable to reach the city’s free water distribution centers—would have access to safe drinking water through a bottled water delivery service or a robust filter installation and maintenance program.

Those efforts paid off. In November 2016, a federal judge sided with Flint residents and ordered the implementation of door-to-door delivery of bottled water to every home without a properly installed and maintained faucet filter. A more momentous win came the following March with a major settlement requiring the city to replace the city’s thousands of lead pipes with funding from the state, and guaranteeing further funding for comprehensive tap water testing, a faucet filter installation and education program, free bottled water through the following summer, and continued health programs to help residents deal with the residual effects of Flint’s tainted water.

But the work of Flint residents and their advocates isn’t finished yet. Ensuring that the provisions of the 2017 settlement are met is an ongoing task. Indeed, members of the lawsuit have already returned to court to see that the city properly manages its lead service line replacement program and provides filters for faucets.

Melissa Mays and other Flint residents address the media after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the Flint water situation in 2016.

Molly Riley/Associated Press

Does Flint have safe water yet?

Governor Snyder seemed to signal the all-clear in April 2018 when he announced that the city would stop providing bottled water to residents. Indeed, there is some evidence that the situation in Flint is improving, with lead levels remaining below the federal action level for the past four six-month monitoring periods, from July 2016 to June 2018.

However, it is important to note that thousands of Flint residents are still getting their water from lead pipes. The federal action level for lead is not a health-based number; it merely is an administrative trigger for remediation by the water utility. The EPA and other health authorities agree that there is no safe level of lead in water, so the continuing use of lead pipes by thousands of Flint residents remains a concern, particularly in light of their cumulative lead exposure over many years.

The FAST Start program implemented by the city in March 2016 is working to replace the thousands of lead and galvanized steel service lines that connect Flint water mains to city homes by 2020. But as of October 2018, only a little more than 7,500 pipes had been upgraded. The slow pace of progress drew the group of residents working with NRDC back to court to demand that Flint comply with its obligations to identify and replace lead pipes and supply filters to residents after each pipe replacement.

Flint water crisis charges

In early 2016, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced an independent review to “determine what, if any, Michigan laws were violated” during Flint’s drinking water disaster. Over the course of his investigation, 15 people have been charged as criminally responsible for causing or contributing to the crisis.

To date, the most senior official to be charged is Nick Lyon, director of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), who is standing trial for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of two men linked to the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. While awaiting trial, Lyon remains the state’s health director.

Among other officials charged are the state’s chief medical executive, Dr. Eden Wells, who allegedly threatened to withhold funds for a project after researchers began looking into the Legionnaires’ outbreak, and four state officials charged with tampering with lead test results and instructing residents to flush their taps ahead of testing (which can produce artificially low lead-level results). Two former Flint emergency managers, three Flint city officials, and a handful of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and MDHHS employees have also been charged. Meanwhile, Governor Snyder has not been charged with any crime.

Resident Lorenzo Lee Avery Jr. stands outside of Flint City Hall during a Flint Lives Matter event in 2016. The city’s ongoing water crisis has left residents dependent on bottled water.

Easy to melt and malleable, lead is a heavy metal that has been used by people for millennia. The Romans added it to makeup, cookware, and paint and even consumed it as a sweet seasoning and preservative in wine. They used lead in the pipes for their famous baths as well as their aqueducts. Not surprisingly, the word plumbing is a derivative of plumbum , the Latin word for lead.

Yet then as now, lead exposure was linked to serious health impacts—even madness and death. Modern science shows that even low levels of lead can impair the brain development of fetuses, infants, and young children. The damage can reverberate for a lifetime, reducing IQ and physical growth and contributing to anemia, hearing impairment, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral problems. Large doses of lead exposure in adults has been linked to high blood pressure, heart and kidney disease, and reduced fertility.

Pure lead pipes, solder, and fittings were banned from U.S. water systems in 1986 (it was only in 2014 that allowable lead levels in plumbing and fixtures dropped to 0.25 percent), and national regulations for lead testing and treatment of public water supplies were established in 1991 with the Lead and Copper Rule. While action by the water utility is required once the level of lead in public water supplies reaches 15 ppb (as measured at the 90th percentile of samples collected), the EPA acknowledges that “there is no safe level of exposure to lead.” Independent tests conducted in fall 2015 revealed that nearly 17 percent of samples from hundreds of Flint homes measured above the 15 ppb federal lead action level, with several samples registering above 100 ppb.

Far more than pipes were corroded during the Flint water crisis. City, state, and federal missteps also destroyed residents’ trust in government agencies. Even if studies indicate Flint’s water is safe, it’s tough to expect its families to drink a glass of tap water without fear.

Fortunately, a majority of Americans have access to safe water, a luxury most of us probably enjoy with little thought. But Flint serves as a reminder that safe water isn’t a guarantee. A recent NRDC analysis found thousands of community water systems have violated federal drinking water laws, including the Lead and Copper Rule, which provides safeguards against lead. Meanwhile, there are many contaminants that aren’t even monitored or regulated, such as perchlorate (a component of rocket fuel) and PFOA/PFOS/PFAS (chemical cousins of Teflon).

To protect our water supplies, it is crucial that we upgrade our nationwide water infrastructure, prioritizing the replacement of an estimated 6.1 million lead service pipes. Strengthening existing government protections, including the Lead and Copper Rule, is also critical. Michigan is now leading the way , strengthening the state Lead and Copper Rule to require that all lead service lines be replaced within 20 years, among other provisions. Though not without flaws, the rule now gives the state the strongest lead drinking water protections in the country.

If you are concerned about your own drinking water , take a look at your water utility’s annual water quality report (also called a consumer confidence report), which is usually posted online and is required to disclose if contaminants have been found in your water. If contaminants have reached dangerous levels, the water supplier is required to send customers public notification. The EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Information System also maintains information about public water systems and their violations. You can go one step farther by having your water tested, either by your water supplier (which may provide this service for free) or by a certified lab.

If you discover your water is contaminated, one option is to use NSF-certified water filters that are designed to eliminate specific contaminants. It is most important, though, that you notify your water utility. If necessary, you can also contact your elected officials, your state’s drinking water program, or the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

As NRDC President Rhea Suh noted at the height of the crisis, “When it comes to providing public services, few things are more fundamental than clean drinking water. What happened to the people of Flint should never have happened. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

Millions of Americans drink tap water served by toxic lead pipes.

Tell the epa we need safe drinking water.

There is no safe level of lead exposure. But millions of old lead pipes contaminate drinking water in homes in every state across the country. We need the EPA to do its part to replace lead pipes equitably and quickly.

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A Case Study of Environmental Injustice: The Failure in Flint

Carla campbell.

1 Department of Public Health Sciences, Room 408, College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave, El Paso, TX 79968, USA

Rachael Greenberg

2 National Nurse-led Care Consortium (NNCC), Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA; su.ccnn@grebneergr

Deepa Mankikar

3 Research and Evaluation Group, Public Health Management Corporation, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA; gro.cmhp@rakiknamd

Ronald D. Ross

4 Occupational and Environmental Medicine Consultant, Las Cruces, NM 88001, USA; [email protected]

The failure by the city of Flint, Michigan to properly treat its municipal water system after a change in the source of water, has resulted in elevated lead levels in the city’s water and an increase in city children’s blood lead levels. Lead exposure in young children can lead to decrements in intelligence, development, behavior, attention and other neurological functions. This lack of ability to provide safe drinking water represents a failure to protect the public’s health at various governmental levels. This article describes how the tragedy happened, how low-income and minority populations are at particularly high risk for lead exposure and environmental injustice, and ways that we can move forward to prevent childhood lead exposure and lead poisoning, as well as prevent future Flint-like exposure events from occurring. Control of the manufacture and use of toxic chemicals to prevent adverse exposure to these substances is also discussed. Environmental injustice occurred throughout the Flint water contamination incident and there are lessons we can all learn from this debacle to move forward in promoting environmental justice.

1. Description of the Flint Water Crisis

At this point, most Americans have heard of the avoidable and abject failure of government on the local, state and federal level; environmental authorities; and water company officials to prevent the mass poisoning of hundreds of children and adults in Flint, Michigan from April 2014 to December 2015 [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. One tends to imagine chemical poisoning as a victim dropping dead in a murder mystery, or the immediate casualties in an industrial accident or a chemical warfare attack. Unlike the release of methyl isocyanate gas in Bhopal, India in 1984 or the release of radiation with the radiation accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986, the poisoning of the population in Flint was an insidious one. People drinking the contaminated water would never have known they had elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) without specific medical testing for blood lead levels. In fact, if the water contamination had not been made public, most exposed children and their families would have never suspected they were being exposed over a 20-month period of time, and it would be expected that the water contamination and lead exposure would have continued up until today.

Lead can cause immediate acute poisoning but the subacute, moderate, long-term exposure impact of concern in Flint is more common, and much more insidious. Any resulting behavioral disturbance or loss of intellectual function would probably not been have linked by their physicians or families to lead poisoning, and instead accepted as something that had just occurred. Additionally, the adverse effects from this event may take years to surface as most negative health effects from low-level lead exposure develop slowly [ 4 ]. Hypertension and kidney damage may not present until long after the exposure. Any resulting behavioral disturbance or loss of intellectual function would probably have not been linked by their physicians or families to lead poisoning, and instead accepted as something that had just occurred.

The Flint disaster was due to the switch in water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, which was then not treated with an anti-corrosion chemical to prevent lead particles and solubilized lead from being released from the interior of water pipes, particularly those from lead service lines or those with lead solder. This water was known to be very corrosive, so corrosive that, in fact, it was not used by the nearby auto industry [ 2 ]. The General Motors plant switched to water from the neighboring Flint Township when General Motors noticed rust spots on newly machined parts [ 2 ]. This corrosive new water supply was then not treated with the anti-corrosion treatment, in noncompliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule, which calls for action when a water supply is found to be corrosive to prevent the potential release of metals from water service lines [ 5 ].

A national water expert, Dr. Marc Edwards, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech University, has stated that the published instructions by EPA for collection of water samples for lead analysis were biased in the direction of underestimating the lead content of the water samples. He had spent years communicating this problem to EPA without a subsequent change in these instructions [ 6 ]. Dr. Edwards testified before Congress in spring 2016 that the Regional EPA Administrator was not alert to what was happening in Flint. Dr. Edwards also published papers previously bringing to the public attention the lead contamination of drinking water in Washington, DC. After Washington, DC made a change in its water disinfectant from chlorine to chloramine, residents were exposed to water with high levels of lead (140 ppb and above) from 2001 to 2004 [ 7 , 8 ]. This resulted in an increase of blood lead levels in young children (many from high-risk neighborhoods) of four times the amount that it was prior to the change in water disinfectant [ 7 , 8 ]. Dr. Edwards was a key player in ensuring that this issue was brought to light and those responsible parties were held accountable [ 9 ]. For comparison, the EPA standard for maximum contaminant level for lead in water is 15 ppb [ 5 ].

Regarding the Flint, Michigan water contamination incident, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a local pediatrician, performed a study looking at blood lead levels (BLLs) from Flint children from 2013 (before the water change) to 2015 (after the water change), assessing the percentage of BLLs over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reference level of 5 µg/dL, reviewing water levels in Flint, and identifying geographical locations of blood and water levels using geospatial analysis. Her study demonstrated that the level of elevated blood lead levels (above 5 µg/dL) in a group of Flint children almost doubled between levels collected prior to the change in water source and afterwards; among children living in the area with highest water lead levels the percentage with elevated BLLs was approximately three times higher when compared to pre-diversion levels (4% versus 10.6%) [ 10 ]. These are extraordinary changes! (The specific blood lead levels or even range of BLLs was not reported in the article.) Unfortunately, many children in Flint already had multiple risk factors for lead poisoning, including “poor nutrition, concentrated poverty, and older housing stock” [ 10 ].

2. Elevated Blood Lead Levels in US Children and the Adverse Health Impacts and Costs of Exposure

Lead exposure in young children can lead to decrements in intelligence, development, behavior, attention, and other neurological functions. Two giants in childhood lead poisoning research and advocacy, Dr. Philip Landrigan and Dr. David Bellinger, summarize the adverse effects of lead very completely, yet succinctly: “Lead is a devastating poison. It damages children’s brains, erodes intelligence, diminishes creativity and the ability to weigh consequences and make good decisions, impairs language skills, shortens attention span, and predisposes to hyperactive and aggressive behavior. Lead exposure in early childhood is linked to later increased risk for dyslexia and school failure.” [ 11 ] Other articles and reports have also confirmed these adverse effects [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].

Therefore, it is important to determine the extent of the problem of elevated blood lead levels in U.S. children. Currently, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2012, 3.24% of children overall aged 1–5 years had a BLL > 5 µg/dL, compared with 7.8% of non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children [ 21 ]. Males had higher adjusted BLLs than females, and a higher poverty income ratio was associated with lower adjusted blood lead levels. Adjusted BLLs increased in renter-occupied (as opposed to owner-occupied) homes and with an increase in the numbers of smokers inside the home [ 21 ]. A previous analysis by Dixon et al. [ 22 ] of NHANES data from 1999 to 2004 found that BLLs were affected by the levels of lead in the floor and the condition of and surface type of the floor; that non-Hispanic Black children had higher BLLs than non-Hispanic white (NHW) children; that Mexican-born children had higher BLLs than those born in the U.S.; that houses built before 1940 were associated with children with higher BLLs; that children living in houses with a smoker had higher BLLs than those living with non-smokers; and that the odds of NHB children having BLLs > 5 µg/dL and > 10 µg/dL were more than double that of NHW children [ 21 , 22 ]. A recent report suggested that many children requiring blood lead testing due to Medicaid insurance status or state or city requirements for testing are not getting tested, and/or the results are not being properly followed up on [ 23 ].

The costs from lead poisoning are considerable, as are the cost savings for prevention of childhood lead poisoning. Attina and Trasande state that in the United States and Europe the lead-attributable economic costs have been estimated at $50.9 and $55 billion dollars, respectively [ 24 ]. Interestingly, they estimate a total cost of $977 billion of international dollars in low- and middle-income countries, with economic losses equal to $134.7 billion in Africa, $142.3 billion in Latin American and the Caribbean, and $699.9 billion in Asia, giving a total economic loss for these countries in the range of $728.6–$1,162.5 billion [ 24 ]. A previous analysis showed that each dollar invested in lead paint hazard control results in a return of $17–$221 or a net savings of $181–$269 billion for a specific cohort of children under six years of age as the benefits of BLL reduction would include categories such as health care, lifetime earnings, tax revenue, special education, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, and the direct costs of crime [ 25 ]. Another prior analysis estimated the economic benefits resulting from an historic lowering of children’s BLLs as measured by data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to be $110–$319 billion for each year’s cohort of 3.8 million two-year-old children, using a discounted lifetime earnings of $723,300 for each two-year-old child in 2000 dollars [ 26 ]. These estimated benefits were due to projected improvements in worker productivity due to increased intelligence quotient (I.Q.) points.

3. How the Flint Case and Other Examples Exhibit Environmental Injustice

Most affected by this egregious environmental disaster was a mostly poor and African-American population [ 27 ]. Some have speculated whether such an error in judgment might have occurred if a different population had been involved, and The New York Times uses the term racism in its editorial [ 27 ]. Another New York Times article talks of an analysis of emails from Governor Rick Snyder’s office that did not mention race but talked of costs involving Flint’s water supply, questioned scientific data regarding water contamination with lead, and mentioned uncertainties about the duties of state and local health officials [ 28 ]. It also mentions that some civil rights advocates were indicating that the Flint water crisis appeared to represent environmental racism [ 28 ]. The article goes on to discuss that the switch in water source was explicitly decided in favor of saving money for the financially unstable city of Flint, and that an emergency manager appointed by Gov. Snyder to carry out the running of the city was himself African-American [ 28 ]. One of Gov. Snyder’s key staff people sounded an alarm about the concern for lead in water, but the state health department responded back that the Flint water was safe [ 28 ].

The Flint Water Advisory Task Force, comprised of five experts in public health and water policy and convened by Governor Snyder, repeatedly stated in its findings that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) improperly and inaccurately described the Flint water as being safe, which unfortunately was then interpreted as accurate by other state agencies and city and county agencies [ 29 ]. The Task Force report also described the Flint water crisis as “a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice”, and adds that the MDEQ failed in its responsibility to properly enforce drinking water regulations, while the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHD) failed its mission to protect public health [ 29 ]. A recent article suggests these two agencies produced sampling data that were flawed, failed to provide accurate information to the Governor’s office, the EPA and the public, and did not respond appropriately when given information by environmental health and medical professionals [ 30 ]. The Task Force report also explains that state-appointed emergency managers replaced local decision-makers in Flint, thus removing “the checks and balances and public accountability that come with public decision-making” [ 29 ]. The group also credits the public and engaged Flint citizens with continuing to question government leadership (although the Task Force noted “callous and dismissive responses to citizens’ expressed concerns”), and the media for its investigative journalism of the crisis [ 29 ]. The Task Force’s conclusion was that “Flint water customers were needlessly and tragically exposed to toxic levels of lead and other hazards through mismanagement of their drinking water supply” [ 29 ]. The Flint Water Advisory Task Force suggests that the Michigan governor should issue an executive order to mandate training and guidance on environmental justice across all state agencies, with acknowledgement that the Flint crisis of water contamination is an example of environmental injustice which has fallen on a predominantly African-American community [ 29 ]. The Task Force issued 44 recommendations to remedy the results of the failure of proper governance and resultant lead poisoning [ 29 , 30 ].

Many have spoken out about this environmental injustice, including research scientists and clinicians [ 11 , 31 , 32 , 33 ] and public health professionals [ 34 ]. Even the EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy, is speaking about how Michigan evaded the EPA regarding the Flint water crisis and how this type of disaster cannot happen elsewhere [ 34 , 35 ]. Dr. Robert Bullard, dean of the School of Public Health at Texas Southern University, calls the Flint water crisis—leading to lead exposure and poisoning with long delays in addressing the problem—a classic case of environmental racism [ 36 ]. “Environmental racism is real…so real that even having the facts, having the documentation and having the information has never been enough to provide equal protection for people of color and poor people” [ 37 ]. He continues, “It takes longer for the response and it takes longer for the recovery in communities of color and low-income communities.” [ 37 ] He explains that regional EPA officials and state officials in Michigan responded first with a cover-up, “and then defensively—either trying to avoid responsibility or minimizing the extent of the damage”, as contrasted with handling of other environmental problems in predominantly white communities [ 37 ]. An example is then given of government officials on all levels helping to clean up a spill of coal ash in Roane County, Tennessee, in a mostly white community [ 37 ]. A Democrat who represents Flint, Michigan, Representative Dan Kildee, called race “the single greatest determinant of what happened in Flint” [ 28 ]. What is the solution? Dr. Bullard suggests that real solutions will result when communities previously left out of decision-making are offered a seat at the table [ 31 ]. In order to stop unequal protection from environmental hazards, Dr. Bullard has come up with five principles he suggests government adopt to further environmental justice: “guaranteeing the right to environmental protection, preventing harm before it occurs, shifting the burden of proof to the polluters, obviating proof of intent to discriminate, and redressing existing inequities” [ 37 ]. Charles Lee, another author writing about environmental justice who worked in the Office of Environmental Justice at EPA, quotes a definition of the environment as “the place where we live, where we work, and where we play” [ 38 ]. He goes on to state that “environmental justice must be the starting point for achieving healthy people, homes, and communities” [ 38 ]. Lastly, the Flint Water Task Force elaborates on its finding of environmental injustice in the Flint case. “Environmental justice or injustice, therefore, is not about intent. Rather, it is about process and results—fair treatment, equal protection, and meaningful participation in neutral forums that honor human dignity…The facts of the Flint water crisis lead us to the inescapable conclusion that this is a case of environmental injustice. Flint residents, who are majority Black or African American and among the most impoverished of any metropolitan area in the United States, did not enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards as that provided to other communities” [ 29 ].

The reader is referred to several references [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] for a more detailed timeline of the specific events and actions that occurred in Flint. The Flint Water Task Force report also provides a summary of its findings and recommendations, giving greater details on the specific events and actions during the switch in water supply [ 29 ]. Regardless of the motivations behind the water supply mismanagement, we must improve governmental safeguards and public health surveillance to strive to avoid such needless exposures to environmental toxicants in the future.

Another recent disaster, involving contamination of local water supplies, was that of the contamination of the Animas River in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico by mine waste from the Gold King Mine, leading to excessively high levels of some toxic elements metals including lead, arsenic and cadmium (all of these being toxic metals) [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. The river water was subsequently off limits for agricultural use and closed for recreational use [ 39 , 42 ]. The Navajo Nation has recently expressed how difficult and problematic this poisoning of their drinking water source has been to this tribe, and that they have not been adequately reimbursed for the adverse impacts to their water source and way of life [ 43 , 44 ]. The Native American Rights Fund states that a source of clean and abundant water is hard to come by for many Native tribes and peoples and that many face health and developmental risks from environmental problems such as surface and groundwater contamination, hazardous waste disposal, illegal dumping, and mining wastes, all of which can contribute to poor quality of water [ 45 ]. As the Flint, the Navajo Nation, and the Native American Rights group exposures highlight, poor and minority communities are unfortunately too often exposed to poisonous chemicals in their neighborhoods and on their tribal lands, leading to environmental injustice [ 44 ].

Not only has the incident in Flint brought to light the contamination of Flint’s water system, it raises issues about local water supplies to towns and cities, and particularly to child care centers and school systems, around the nation [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]. This has caused our nation to focus on investigating for lead contamination in water supplies in other cities, particularly in school systems, child care centers and other places occupied by children [ 49 , 50 ]. A Huffington Post article states that the Flint water crisis has provided a wake-up call to the country with the “discovery” of poisoned water in many communities in the U.S., and that our water infrastructure is outdated and deteriorating, and that water sampling procedures for lead are also “dangerously” outdated, as they allow for 10% of the population to be exposed to levels over the EPA maximum contaminant level [ 51 ]. Some cities have been cited for their exemplary actions in keeping their city water supplies free from lead contamination [ 52 ].

Historically, the scientists in the companies that put lead in gasoline and lead in paint became aware of the dangers of those specific lead exposures, but it took much time to finally remove lead from these products; many counties banned the use of lead-based paint in residential housing before the U.S. did [ 53 , 54 ]. One author states, “Flint’s tragedy is shedding light on a health issue that’s been lurking in U.S. households for what seems like forever. But that demands the question: Why has lead poisoning never really been treated like what it is—the longest-lasting childhood-health epidemic in U.S. history?” [ 55 ]. Bliss then goes on to describe how when in the 1950s, when “millions of children had had been chronically or acutely exposed (to lead)” and this had been linked to health problems, that “If the lead industry had stepped up then (or if it had been forced to by government)”, maybe lead poisoning would have been treated like any other major childhood disease—polio, for example. In the 1950s, “Fewer than sixty thousand new cases of polio per year created a near-panic among American parents and a national mobilization that led to vaccination campaigns that virtually wiped out the disease within a decade”, write Rosner and Markowitz [ 56 ]. “With lead poisoning, the industry and federal government could have mobilized together to systemically detoxify the nation’s lead-infested housing stock, and end the epidemic right there” [ 55 ]. Bliss then goes on to describe how “the industry’s powerful leaders diverted the attention of health officials away from their products, and toward class and race” by associating childhood lead poisoning with that of a child “with ‘ignorant’ parents living in ‘slums’” [ 55 ]. Bliss goes on to state that “lead poisoning in children can be eradicated…Today the cost of detoxifying the entire nation hovers around $1 trillion, says Rosner. Any federal effort to systematically identify and remove lead from infested households would be complex, decades-long, and require ongoing policy reform. ‘But it’s also saving a next generation of children,’ Rosner says. ‘You’re actually going to stop these kids from being poisoned. And isn’t that worth something?’” [ 56 ]. “And Rosner is a tiny bit hopeful. Amid national conversation about economic inequality, a housing crisis, and the value of black and Latino lives, the attention that Flint has brought to lead might usher in the country’s first comprehensive lead-poisoning prevention program” [ 56 ].

With the information about lead contamination in Flint and many cities around the country, one might wonder whether there is a dearth of information or recommendations about how to prevent and manage childhood lead poisoning. There is not. Many authors have weighed in on this question recently [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 17 , 19 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ], some with very specific plans and ideas. Primary prevention of lead exposure has been particularly emphasized in almost all of them. Landrigan and Bellinger compel us to “map the sources of lead, get the lead out, and make sure there is no new lead” [ 11 ]. Jacobs and colleagues at the National Center for Healthy Housing have started a campaign for lead exposure detection and lead poisoning prevention based on these three principles: “find it, fix it, and fund it” [ 33 ]. Some call for revised standards for lead in air, house dust, soil and water [ 12 , 61 , 62 , 63 ]. The chief causes of lead exposure are nicely summarized by Levin and colleagues [ 64 ]. Unfortunately, childhood lead poisoning prevention is often deemed to be not important enough to work on, with other pressing medical and public health problems intervening; it is also complicated, complex and involves many stakeholders. Thus, the clinicians, government officials, and public health officials looking for a quick fix and a one-prescription answer to this medical problem are often disappointed and discouraged.

Concern about the neurotoxic effects of lead has been expanded now to include the neurotoxic effects of many more new chemicals out in use by the American public, including children. Children are exposed to chemicals in their everyday lives, as these are found in toys, children’s products, personal care items such as shampoos and skin creams, on foods in the form of pesticide residues, and in the air in the form of air pollutants. Some authors have weighed in on the need for more control of the manufacture and use of these toxicants and for more research into adverse health effects [ 31 , 65 , 66 ]. In 2015, a unique group of research scientists, clinicians, government representatives, and health care advocates met to form the Project TENDR (Targeting Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks) which focuses on engendering action to prevent exposure of fetuses, infants and children to environmental toxicants [ 67 ]. The group has created a list of five chemical classes of neurotoxins which have adverse effects on brain development. The list includes lead, specific air pollutants, organophosphate pesticides, phthalates, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are flame retardants. These were selected based on the degree of evidence for their adverse effects and the ability of this group and other scientists, clinicians, government officials, and advocates to work effectively to prevent exposures to these toxicants. Project TENDR has recently released a consensus statement with many signatures of both individuals and groups [ 67 , 68 , 69 ], as well as other articles on the project’s work [ 70 ]. Later this year, the group will release specific recommendations for prevention of exposure to the five chemical groups. The recent passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act has been a welcome revision and updating of the Toxic Substances Control Act promulgated by EPA in 1976 [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]. This is a step in right direction for better control of exposures to lead and other toxic chemicals in our environment.

4. Future Directions: How to Move Toward Environmental Justice

How do we remedy the situation in Flint, Michigan, and prevent future episodes similar to the Flint and Navajo Nation disasters? The Flint Water Task Force recommends that the MDHHS establish a Flint Toxic Exposure Registry to follow-up on the children and adults who were residing in Flint from April 2014 until the present, and carry out more aggressive clinical and public health follow-up for all children with elevated BLLs in the state [ 29 ]. It also recommends that routine lead screening and appropriate follow-up occur in the children’s medical homes (with the primary care provider) [ 29 ]. Additionally, the Task Force recommends that the Genesee County Health Department improve follow-up of health concerns in cooperation with the MDHHS and City of Flint “to effect timely, comprehensive, and coordinated activity and ensure the best health outcomes for children and adults affected” [ 29 ]. Dr. Hanna-Attisha has established the Flint Child Health and Development Fund which will support children and their families to obtain the optimum health and development outcomes, early childhood education, access to a pediatric medical home, improved nutrition and integrated social services [ 6 ]. The Michigan State University (MSU)/Hurley Pediatric Public Health Initiative will assess, monitor, and intervene to increase children’s readiness to succeed in school by providing the above services, along with stimulating environments and parenting education [ 6 ]. This type of close follow-up has been recommended under the Flint Recovery and Remediation section of the Flint Water Task Force, as well as a recommendation to establish a dedicated subsidiary fund in the Michigan Health Endowment Fund for funding health-related services for Flint residents [ 29 ]. Therefore, local efforts will be taken to counteract the negative consequences of exposure to lead for Flint’s children. Several recent publications support the positive effects that enriched home environments can have on cognition and behavior in both human and animal studies [ 74 , 75 , 76 ].

Secondly, government agencies at the federal, state and local level and municipal authorities will need to improve their performance to ensure environmental justice, rather than contribute toward environmental injustice. This was mandated in an Executive Order by President William Clinton which requires all federal agencies to take action to ensure environmental justice [ 77 ]. The American Academy of Pediatrics provides a good starting point regarding childhood lead exposure prevention with their recommendation that “The US EPA and HUD should review their protocols for identifying and mitigating residential lead hazards (e.g., lead-based paint, dust, and soil) and lead-contaminated water from lead service lines or lead solder and revise downward the allowable levels of lead in house dust, soil, paint, and water to conform with the recognition that there are no safe levels of lead” [ 12 ]. They also give many other recommendations for government, as well as for pediatricians and other health care providers, for reducing and preventing children’s exposure to lead. Other groups, authors and reports have weighed in on what needs to be fixed and carried out, as indicated earlier in this article. As Bellinger puts it, “We know where the lead is, how people are exposed, and how it damages health. What we lack is the political will to do what should be done” [ 32 ].

Looking at the Flint case specifically, why was the water supply switched in Flint? The evidence seems to point to financial reasons for this. In Flint, state officials decided to save money without concern for providing environmental protections for a community at well-established increased risk. This is clear injustice in environmental protection to a low income and minority community. Why weren’t the corrosion control measures implemented? The Flint Water Task Force implicates various leadership groups, including the MDEQ, MDHHS, Michigan’s Governor’s Office, State-appointed Emergency Managers, the EPA, and City of Flint, although the MDEQ and EPA seem to share most culpability [ 29 ].

5. Conclusions

In short, this crisis was the result of failures on every level. We have presented various comments about how environmental racism and injustice played into this situation. Why were the concerns and complaints about water quality from a mostly African-American community not addressed? The facts presented demonstrate that environmental injustice is the major and underlying factor involved in the events in Flint. Having a state-appointed emergency manager in charge took away the normal communication the City of Flint might have had with its residents and constituents. The Flint Water Task Force has a list of 44 recommendations, mostly directed at the various agencies and offices involved, for improving the situation and preventing further problems [ 29 ]. Much of this involves recommending that these entities seek and follow expert advice, whether on water treatment techniques or protecting the public’s health [ 29 ]. It is also imperative to rebuild relationships with Flint’s community and respond to community needs in order to make real and lasting change. Perhaps putting the Flint situation under a microscopic analysis may prevent future episodes of such environmental injustice.

We must do a better job at moving forward and preventing environmental injustice; our future work is cut out for us.

Author Contributions

The concept of the paper was developed by all of the authors. Carla Campbell performed the lead writing. Rachael Greenberg, Deepa Mankikar and Ronald Ross contributed references, edited the paper, and contributed to the revisions. All authors reviewed the article and approved the final content.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Sample essay about the water crisis in flint, michigan.

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Water is one life’s most precious resources. In some organisms, water comprises as much as 90% of personal body weight, in humans, this ratio is 60%. Hence, when water is contaminated or sparse, life quality can be expected to drop dramatically. This sample environmental science essay explores the Flint Michigan water crisis that has been unfolding for two years ever since the city began to use water from the local Flint River (Foley). The case of Flint is a precautionary one and one worthy of intense public attention, both writing and speeches , as it may herald the need for a significant shift in America’s water management plant.

Background on the Flint, Michigan water crisis

Flint Michigan’s water crisis is a national crisis of eroding proportion. For two years, the locals have been continuously subjected to the ill effects of poisonous waters stemming from a recent change over in supply. Up until about April 2014, Flint had been totally reliant upon the water from Lake Huron purchased through Detroit (Foley). Due to the importance of food and water safety , plans to create a new regional water system that could bring tap water from the Lake Huron were then instated to set up a water harvesting system that could bring it into Flint at a better price were then initiated. Despite the well-meaning intentions, the project’s two-year delay caused a significantly unexpected turn of events when the temporary alternative water resource, the Flint River, was found to be highly contaminated.

The polluted water

The dissatisfactory nature of the water was realized nearly as soon as it was pumped from the river. The litany of complaints included that the water smelled, like metal, tasted, like metal, and looked ‘funny’ (Foley). Residents of flint pulled from their tap not clean and fresh water like that which is experienced almost universally across the united states but large jugs of brownish and foul liquid that may even be questionable to swim in (Bosman, Davey, Smith). Resident Bethany Hazard states that when she filled up her water from the faucet it came out not only brown but smelling of a sewer (Semuels).

The river itself has been a source of considerable pollution with a dead body being found in the river in addition to an abandoned car as well as abnormally high levels of trihalomethanes, and copper (Semuels). The mere fact, however, that such findings were only accidentally leaked underscores a lack of concern for the safety of Flint’s residents. The first tests on the water confirmed that indeed, something was quite wrong. The Environmental Protection Agency (the agency responsible for enforcing environmental policies in the U.S. ) for instance, leaked in a memo that in the water were trace amounts of the E. Coli bacteria, a serious health hazard for people of all ages (Foley unfortunate dimension of the Flint Michigan water crisis, the economic one.

How does Flint's water crisis affect the economy?

About 41% of the 100,000 residents who live in Michigan exist below or at the nation’s poverty line which makes this a socio-political issue as much as it is an environmental one (Foley). Indeed, the city actually was motivated to make the water switch over in the first place by financial concerns which held that an upgraded water resource could make serious improvements in the city’s strained budget. Unfortunately, the financial maneuver has ended up costing them several million more dollars than it saved.

It is this economic disparity that most likely contributed to the failing of the state authorities to properly address the issues in the time and manner due to the risk inherent to the contamination. Indeed, the first activist groups to call attention to the issue were labeled as no importance “anti-everything group” while other outspoken individuals were called rabble rousers playing “political football” (Bosman, Davey, Smith). All this backlash was made, in addition, in spite of increasingly worrisome findings concerning the water quality coming from scientists.

Only after months and months of complaints, of the grievous nature already once described, that the state officials began to conduct the logistical and technical response proper to the severity and vulnerability of the environment and population in question. Roughly a year after the citizens of Flint had been contending with their suspect water source that the state declared the public health emergency (like the emergency declared with the Zika virus ) proper to the situation at hand (Bosman, Davey, Smith). The local and state authorities shortly thereafter moved the water supply back to Lake Huron through Detroit however this still could not prevent or reverse the damage done.

Sociological and health impact

The water crisis in Flint Michigan is of epidemic proportions. Near the end of 2015, the state began to realize the trouble they were so direly in. Tests were conducted on the afflicted populations to discover that indeed, many a number were critically infected lead in the blood which could likely result in lasting and chronic health problems, especially in children who are more susceptible to toxins. The list of ailments from the contaminated water resource are astounding and cautionary. Rashes, hair loss, and numerous other health ailments provide a most undesirable account of the cost not only of environmental devastation but poverty as well (Foley).

The sum effect of this water pollution on top of the poverty is the literal dying away of the home. In Flint, one in 14 homes is vacant (Mallory Sidner). This means that all around the neighborhood, houses go without occupants and thus neighborhoods go without the life they need to be at maximum functioning and appreciation. As is usually the case, poverty is matched by equally disfavored social conditions. Many business have begun to close or at least shrink causing a massive shortage in available jobs and thus income for residents (Mallory Sidner).

This has the town incredibly worried not only for the longevity not only of the town but the children as well. Children are the city’s most vulnerable population who has been affected by the tap water crisis (Mallory Sidner). A prime example of the loss that has transpired within Flint’s youth is that of eighteen year old Dominque Absell. Although possessing a common and lively appearance, Dominque has begun to experience chronic headaches, passing out, seizures, and general sickness that are cutting into his life plans severely (Mallory Sidner). It is expected that the Flint water contamination is at the root of the problem and that if not properly taken care of it could prevent Dominque from graduating and going on to his desired service in the military shortly thereafter. The only proof they have that the water is the cause is that once his mother stopped using the contaminated water, her son stopped passing out (Mallory Sidner).

Government assessment and possible solutions

Flint is filled with such charged human emotion stories. Residents frequently report feelings of abandonment by their government and much hopeless for the future of their city. Such accounts are hardly unwarranted. The government had ample suspicion and evidence to act sooner than they did however they refrained from the appropriate action, no doubt lacking the compassion and urgency necessary to make the difference. Nevertheless, the government has made some progress in assisting the city, namely a $28 million dollar request from the governor which was approved by the Michigan House a few weeks ago to aid the city (Bosman, Davey, Smith). Surely the recent storm of media coverage in Flint helped to secure the recent assistance bill. Obama himself met with Karen Weaver, the Flint Michigan mayor, stating to reports that he would:

“Be beside myself” if he were a parent in Flint and that “the notion that immediately families were not notified, this were not shut down – that shouldn’t happen anywhere” (Bosman, Davey, Smith).

Unfortunately, besides having a river contamination problem contributing to the contaminated water, there is also the suspicion aging pipes are a part of the cause (Connor and Rappleye). The dying infrastructure of Flint had prevented the necessary upgrades to the city sewer system which further contributed to the disastrous sewer effects (Semuels). Despite the rising news coverage in Flint concerning water problems, there is a general trend through the U.S. in depreciatory water quality. In 2013 for instance, America received a failing grade ‘D’ in their drinking water score from the American Society for Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure (Semuels). This most undesirable metric indicates that the infrastructure in America is approaching the final stage of its utility and is likely to widely become a liability throughout much of the U.S. It is suspected that an innovation initiative totaling more than $1 trillion dollars is needed to reverse this grade into the passing (Semuels).

It may be estimated what the costs will be if the project is not quickly instated thanks to the sobering example that is Flint Michigan’s water crisis. People throughout the nation, starting most likely in the poorest cities and districts, will begin to feel the effects of subtlety being poisoned in increasing damage until they, and their regional county, will have to individually face the disaster before them. However, if taken seriously as a country, these effects may be largely circumvented through the proposal leading to improved safety and water quality across the nation. It is no doubt that this incident will spark academic analysis from essays to dissertations for years to come even if it does not translate into much needed public policy.

Concluding thoughts on the Flint, Michigan water crisis

Flint, Michigan has gone through quite the ordeal over the past two years as they transitioned to the temporary Flint River water source. The mere fact, however, as news reports and research papers have shown, that the river was polluted in the first place is a suspect as the state’s fiscal and environmental response to the issue. Perhaps instead of letting this failure go to total waste, the nation will readily accept the lesson given and set forth the initiative to improve America’s infrastructure as a country. Indeed, this would be a most positive use of tax-payers dollars that could have lasting returns on the country’s health unlike other spending programs like that of war.

Bosman, Julie, Davey, Monica, Smith, Mitch. As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints from Flint. NY Times . Web. Mar. 9, 2016.

Connor, Tracy, Rappley, Hannah. NBC News. 2016. Web. Mar. 9, 2016.

Foley, Kaye. The Flint Water Crisis Explained. Yahoo.com , 2016. Web. Mar. 9, 2016.

Mallory, Simon, Sidner, Sara. Children of Flint: Inheriting anxiety and giving up hope. CNN.com . Web. Mar. 9, 2016

Semuels, Alana. Aging Pipes are Poisoning America’s Tap Water. The Atlantic , 2015. Web. Mar. 9, 2016.

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Searching for news: the flint water crisis.

During the long saga of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan – an ongoing, multilayered disaster that exposed about 100,000 residents to harmful contaminants and lead and left them even as of early 2017 advised to drink filtered or bottled water – local and regional audiences used online search engines as a way to both follow the news and understand its impact on public and personal health.

A new Pew Research Center study, based on anonymized Google search data from Jan. 5, 2014, through July 2, 2016, delves into the kinds of searches that were most prevalent as a proxy for public interest, concerns and intentions. The study also tracks the way search activity ebbed and flowed alongside real world events and their associated news coverage. The study begins in 2014, when officials switched the source of municipal drinking water from the Detroit city water system to the Flint River. The study period covers ensuing events that included bacteria-related “boil water” advisories, studies showing elevated lead levels in children’s blood and tap water samples, government-issued lead warnings, bottled-water distribution, declarations of emergency, the filing of criminal charges, a Democratic presidential candidate debate in Flint and a visit to the city by President Barack Obama.

The data, based on nearly 2,700 different search terms  associated with the crisis, reveal that residents of Flint were searching for information about their water before the government recognized the contamination and before local and regional news media coverage intensified beyond a handful of stories related to the initial switch of the water supply. And, while news was the first type of information people searched for, questions about personal and public health implications soon came to the forefront. The politics of the water crisis – which involved the governor of Michigan, the city of Flint and several agencies – did not resonate as a local search topic until Obama reacted, when the story spread nationally.

While the case study focuses on one particular news event, the overarching goals are larger: to begin exploring what aggregated search behavior can tell us about how news spreads in our increasingly fractured information environment, as well as about how the public’s focus shifts over the course of a developing news story. To achieve these goals, researchers needed to focus on a specific story with many unique keywords and a strong geographic element, traits that make it easier to track search activity. The Flint case not only meets these criteria but also epitomizes a crisis that had an impact at the personal, community and political level, and – as it developed over more than two years – grew from a local story to a national one.

Researchers collected data from the Google Health Application Program Interface (API) , to which the Center gained special access for this project. Using a multistep process , researchers identified relevant search terms, ranging from specific searches related to Flint such as “Flint water EPA” to more practical issues such as “why is my water brown.” These individual queries  were then grouped into five broad categories – News and Media, Politics and Government, Public Health and Environment, Personal Health and Household, and Chemical and Biological Contaminants – representing the primary aspects of the story that preoccupied local, state and national residents, as suggested by their search habits. The analysis was conducted across three different geographic areas  – the Flint DMA , the whole state of Michigan and the entire U.S.

The central point of analysis for this study is search activity (also described as interest) per week  for each of the five main search categories within each geographic area (the city of Flint as defined by its DMA , the state of Michigan and the U.S.) over time. Change in search activity is presented as percentage increases, which measure week-to-week change within one category and geographic area – for example, change in search interest in the Personal Health category across the state of Michigan. While there will always be small fluctuations in search activity, researchers identified periods  where searches rose or fell in a meaningful way by using a combination of statistical techniques, generalized additive models and changepoint models . Of the 154 distinct time periods  identified across search term categories and geographic areas, 24 registered measurable increases in search activity. Some of these were quick spikes (increases that took place over one or two weeks) while others were more gradual increases over the course of several weeks.

It is important to keep in mind that Google only makes its search results available in the form of proportions of all searches in a geographic area, rather than as a raw number of searches. For example, all searches within Flint that fall under the category of News and Media are shown as a proportion of all searches overall, on any topic, that week by users in Flint. (If the proportion of searches for a term or group of terms is below a certain threshold, known as the privacy threshold, Google Health API returns a result of zero as a way to protect the privacy of individual users and to ensure that they cannot be identified.) The analysis thus measures whether that proportion has increased or decreased in a meaningful way between periods identified by the changepoint model. It is also important to note that the Google Health API provides proportions specific to each geographic area (i.e., the proportion of searches for a locally relevant topic are likely to be higher in that local area than across the entire U.S.). Thus, the meaningful measures are changes within a geographic area.

Finally, one could hypothesize that if the total number of searches is growing (either due to a big one-time event or just the natural growth of Google searches), then the number of searches related to a specific term or group of terms could potentially indicate an artificial change or stability (regardless of the raw number of searches related to a term). However, the number of Google searches is so large that, according to internal Google analysis, even big events have a relatively small effect on the total number of searches in a given day. Still, researchers took further steps to minimize any possible effect by using week-level data, drawing 50 samples  for every search category each week in each geographic area, and by identifying meaningful changes using the changepoint method described in the methodology .

To supplement the analysis of Google search data, the project also includes an audit of news coverage produced by a sample of local, regional and national news media as well an analysis of all Twitter posts across the U.S. related to the crisis . This digital essay presents the data in many graphical ways, from trend lines representing the entire 2 ½-year time range  to circular graphics that zoom in for details at the weekly level.

Search activity

Local and national media coverage

Twitter conversation

Proportion of all Google searches that contain Flint water crisis-related terms for the News and Media category within the Flint area

Number of Flint water crisis-related stories identified in the local/regional and national news outlets studied

Total number of Twitter posts about the Flint water crisis across the U.S.

State of emergency

250 stories

of searches

Sep/Oct 2015

Flint issues

lead warning.

County issues

public health

Flint issues an

advisory about

high levels of toxic

disinfection

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Flint issues lead

warning. Genesee

County issues public

health emergency

Boil water advisory

high levels of

The analysis is divided into three distinct phases, mirroring the development of the crisis: 2014, when the contamination initially became public; 2015, when it became a significant local issue; and 2016, when it hit the national news and launched a federal government response.

2014 Apr 25 – Flint switches from Detroit to Flint River for tap water Aug 16 – Flint issues boil water advisory due to detection of fecal coliform bacteria Sep 5 – Flint city issues another advisory due to more positive tests for coliform bacteria Oct 13 – General Motors stops using Flint river water in its factories

2015 Jan 2 – Flint issues warning that water contains high levels of toxic byproducts Feb 3 – Gov. Snyder approves $2M for water system improvements Feb 18 – High lead levels are found in the tap water of Flint resident LeeAnne Walters Feb 25 – Walters contacts Miguel Del Toral, a manager at the EPA’s Midwest water division Feb 27 – Del Toral emails aides at the EPA and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Mar 3 – City tests find lead levels that are nearly 27 times the EPA action threshold in Walters’ tap water Mar 27 – Blood tests reveal that all of Walters’ four children were exposed to lead and one of them has lead poisoning May 6 – Tests reveal high lead levels in two more homes in Flint Jun 5 – A group of clergy and activists file a lawsuit against the city Jun 24 – Del Toral says in a memo that the absence of corrosion controls is a major concern Jul 9 – Del Toral’s memo is leaked August – Virginia Tech’s Mark Edwards and his students begin testing Flint’s water independently Sep 2 – Edwards makes his findings public supporting the corrosiveness of Flint water Sep 24 – High blood lead levels detected in Flint children Sep 25 – Flint issues lead advisory Oct 1 – Genesee County issues public health emergency due to high levels of lead Oct 16 – City of Flint decided to reconnect to Detroit water system Nov 16 – Class action lawsuit is announced against city and state officials on behalf of Flint residents Dec 14 – State of emergency declared in Flint

2016 Jan 4 – State of emergency declared for all of Genesee County Jan 5 – State of emergency declared in Michigan Jan 12 – Governor activates Michigan’s National Guard to assist with water and filter distribution Jan 16 – President Obama declares state of emergency in Flint, freeing up to $5M in federal aid Mar 6 – Democratic presidential candidates hold a debate in Flint Apr 20 – Three government workers charged with crimes for role in water crisis May 4 – Obama travels to Flint and addresses residents Jun 22 – Michigan Attorney General files lawsuits against companies for role in water crisis

Main findings

Even before the water crisis had started to unfold, residents of Flint had begun searching for information about their water at increased rates – largely preceding both government notice and heightened regional news coverage. In mid-July 2014, searches in the News and Media category related to water issues began to increase both within Flint and across the state of Michigan. By August, after a threefold increase in Michigan and a nearly fourfold one in Flint, they reached their second-highest peak in the whole 2 ½-year time range studied. This stretch of increased searches occurred weeks before the city of Flint issued its first boil advisory, on Aug. 16. It also occurred before regional news outlets audited for this report showed any substantial signs of elevated attention. Indeed, during these four weeks, the rate of coverage among these outlets was the same as it had been since the beginning of 2014 – just one or two stories per week. This suggests that information may have spread among local residents, largely before the news industry or local governments had turned increased attention to the issue.

As more events occurred and news broke, the public reacted in real time by taking steps to gather more information. Of the 24 periods  of heightened search activity identified across all categories and geographic areas, a large majority occurred at times roughly in line with major events in the water crisis. For instance, in September 2015, heightened search activity in Flint about personal and public health coincided with the city’s issuance of a lead warning on Sept. 25 and a public health emergency on Oct. 1. Over the five weeks surrounding those events, searches in the Personal Health category rose 154% and those in the Public Health category rose 380% compared with the week before the increase began. Additionally, periods  of heightened search activity tended to occur when local and regional media coverage also increased. For example, during the five-week rise in search in September 2015, the media audit also identified heightened activity: 154 stories in total, up from 24 the five weeks prior. These data indicate that public search interest tends to align with key moments in the story and elevated news coverage. One limit to working with data at the week level, though, is the inability to get a more granular assessment – within one week, search could have increased a few days before news coverage or vice versa.

While most instances of increased search activity coincided with media attention and events, the opposite was not true: Heightened news coverage and developments in the story did not always translate to increased search activity. For instance, early in 2015, when Flint issued another warning about contaminated water (Jan. 2) and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder approved $2 million in infrastructure improvements (Feb. 3), the news media covered the crisis at elevated levels (an average of 12 stories per week during eight weeks in January and February, compared with just one story per week in the eight weeks prior). However, this did not translate into any meaningful rise in search activity. Separately, in March 2015 high lead levels were found in the water of Flint resident LeeAnne Walters , and in June 2015 a group of clergy and activists filed lawsuits against the city . In these instances there again was no elevated search activity or rise in coverage or search. One possible explanation for the lack of heightened search activity during these instances is that, aside from the funding announcement, many of these events were incremental changes to existing storylines rather than major developments, such as later in the year when the state of emergency was declared, or in 2016 when the government advised residents to use only bottled water . These events did coincide with heightened search activity.

Search activity broadened each year, both in the mix of search categories and the geographic reach. In 2014, only three search categories related to the Flint water crisis showed signs of increased search activity, and only in Flint and Michigan: News and Media, Public Health, and Chemical and Biological Contaminants (though the Public Health and Contaminant increases were smaller). In 2015, search interest in the Public Health category grew, and Personal Health searches first saw a rise. Still, all the 2015 increases occurred over just two months’ time and were again confined to Flint and Michigan. It was finally in 2016, as the Flint water crisis came onto the national scene, that searches for all categories rose, this time across the entire country. We have seen in the past that public attention to issues begins at the local level and can take months or longer to reach national recognition. Similar to the Cliven Bundy standoff or tensions between police and the black community , this analysis shows that the Flint water crisis is another example of a local issue becoming a national one.

The trajectory of search interest across categories sheds light on how the public processes and reacts to public events. What the public searched for first, over the 2 ½ years, was news – the facts about what was happening – with searches such as “Flint water crisis articles” and “Flint water update” (in May and July-August 2014). Then, in 2015, the public began asking more about how the contaminated water would affect their own day-to-day living. Searches for both personal health-related items such as “lead water absorb skin” and public health queries  such as “water pollution causes” grew steadily over a five-week time span in September and October, ultimately rising 154% and 380% respectively. In 2016, when the governor activated the National Guard and President Obama announced $5 million in aid, members of the public both locally and nationally began looking into the political aspects of the story.

Even though searches in the Personal Health category did not show any increased activity until 2015, they always accounted for the largest proportion of search activity in all geographic areas – speaking to the high baseline interest in personal health matters tied to water, even outside of the Flint story. There are likely at least two elements at play here. First, personal health issues such as bathing and whether to use tap water in baby formulas are subjects that members of the public are likely to search for regularly – whether there is a water contamination issue in the news or not. Thus, the baseline proportion for this type of search is higher than others. (A majority of the 692 search terms in the category do not specifically mention Flint, as not everyone would type that word into a search, especially those living there.) Second, past research about people’s news habits suggests that individuals often respond to news by thinking about how it might affect them directly. For example, when it comes to the economy, one of the topics people follow most closely is gas prices .

Twitter conversation about the Flint water crisis closely tracked national search activity. The number of tweets about the Flint water crisis remained minimal until 2016. During the week of Jan. 17, 2016 (the same week national search activity in all categories skyrocketed), tweets about the Flint water crisis nearly tripled compared with the week before, from about 140,000 tweets to more than 400,000 tweets. In total, there were about 7,000 tweets posted about the Flint water crisis in 2014, compared with about 92,000 in 2015 and about 2.1 million in the first half of 2016.

In addition to the findings about the water contamination in Flint, the study sheds light on what search data can and cannot tell us about public attitudes and behavior. Researchers spent months exploring, testing and validating the tool and data output before deciding upon the most appropriate method for this study. To help others understand the dynamics of the Google search data, as well as the differences between the Trends website and the private Health API used here, the methodology offers a detailed accounting of each step of that process and decisions made along the way. An accompanying blog post offers key lessons from a research perspective and a Q&A explains how the research was conducted .

The early days of the water crisis, January – December 2014

In Flint, and to some extent across the state, 2014 saw the beginnings of search interest in aspects of the water crisis. In particular, Flint residents were primarily searching for news of the water problems, and to a lesser degree, information about the public health impact of the crisis. Michigan residents more generally were also searching at higher rates for news of the crisis and, again to a smaller degree, for information on specific water contaminants. At the time, personal health and political aspects of the crisis had not popped. National search activity would not rise in any category until 2016. Twitter activity related to the crisis was also minimal throughout 2014.

Brief search chronology

The first time Google search activity rose in relation to the Flint water crisis was in May 2014, in the News and Media category. These searches, with terms such as “Flint water crisis news” and “lead contamination USA Today,” rose for three straight weeks before falling back down. Search activity would not rise again until July and August – this time not only in Flint but also across Michigan, and to a much more substantial degree. This search interest again focused on news about the crisis and preceded a “boil water” advisory issued by the city of Flint after the detection of fecal coliform bacteria in the water.

Then, on Sept. 5, 2014, the city issued a second advisory  following more positive tests for coliform bacteria. Concurrently (the week of Aug. 31), searches about public health terms such as “water pollution city” or “Flint water environment” registered a small uptick for the first time.

Also that week, searches in Michigan in the Contaminants category, including terms such as “water contamination coliform” and “water quality ppm,” started increasing. These searches continued to inch upward for eight consecutive weeks, finally peaking during the week starting Oct. 19, around the same time General Motors decided to stop using Flint River water at its engine plant because of high levels of chloride , which allegedly caused corrosion. Over the eight weeks of search activity growth, searches about contaminants increased by 161%. Even with that increase, however, it is important to note that the overall proportion of searches in the Contaminants category is far lower than those of other categories such as Public Health and News.

Four periods of elevated search activity across categories and regions emerged in 2014

Proportion of all Google searches that contain Flint water crisis-related terms for each category within each geographic area

Public health in Flint

Contaminants in Michigan

News about the water crisis in Flint and Michigan

Larger proportion of searches

Flint switches from Detroit to Flint River for tap water

Boil water advisory issued

Flint city issues another boil water advisory

GM stops using Flint River water

Smaller proportion of searches

Note: For details on search topic definitions and sampling, see the Methodology.

Source: Pew Research Center analysis of Google Health API data for Jan. 5, 2014–July 2, 2016.

“Searching for News: The Flint Water Crisis”

Demand among local residents for more news about what was happening not only rose before other categories but also preceded increased regional news coverage and government notices. About a month after the city of Flint switched its tap water supply from Detroit’s system (Lake Huron) to the Flint River in April 2014, Google searches for news about the Flint water crisis registered a first, moderate uptick in Flint. In the week of May 11, News and Media searches about Flint water issues increased 17% from the week before. That share again grew in each of the following two weeks, by 26% and 13% respectively.

News and Media search interest reached second-highest level in Flint and Michigan in August 2014

Proportion of all Google searches that contain Flint water crisis-related terms for the News and Media category within each geographic area

Flint issues another advisory

Apr 25 Flint switches from Detroit to Flint River for tap water

Aug 16 Boil water advisory issued

Sep 5 Flint issues another advisory

Oct 13 GM stops using Flint River water

News and Media searches in Flint remained somewhat elevated over the next seven weeks, but then a larger increase occurred both within Flint and across Michigan.

Searches increased at the state level first. In the week beginning July 13, 2014, search interest in Michigan related to news about the Flint crisis shot up 38% from the week prior. It then continued to grow through the week of Aug. 3, reaching the second-highest peak for News and Media searches in Michigan over the entire 2 ½-year time range, second only to when Obama declared a national state of emergency in January 2016. Over the four weeks of continuous increases, searches about news on the water crisis in Michigan experienced a threefold increase before returning to pre-peak levels.

In the city of Flint, meanwhile, searches for news about the crisis began to rise again a week later than in Michigan (July 20). Within this more heavily impacted geographic area, searches rose 27% over the previous week and continued to increase for the next three weeks (adding 67%, 47% and 15% each consecutive week), reaching their peak the week of Aug. 10. That was the same week fecal coliform bacteria were detected in Flint’s water, leading to the “boil water” advisory issued by the city on Aug. 16 . Over the whole four-week time span, News and Media searches in the Flint area more than tripled from what they were before the rises began.

Both of these stretches of heightened News and Media searches occurred weeks before the advisory was published. In another sign that the public may have been ahead of the local government and news media, on July 30 – during the period of increased search activity – the city responded to citizen complaints about the color of the water by flushing out the city’s fire hydrants , but they did not test the water’s safety at that time. The first period of heightened search also preceded a rise in news media attention to the crisis. From May 25 through the week ending Aug. 16, the media audit data show no rise in regional news coverage. Across these 12 weeks there were never more than two stories per week in the outlets audited, and an average of one per week. 2 During the week following the boil advisory, on the other hand, local and regional news media attention grew, with a total of five stories that week among the outlets studied.

Local and regional news coverage about the Flint water crisis was minimal in 2014

Local/regional media

National media

Note: Data represent stories identified in local, regional and national news media and were retrieved from LexisNexis and ProQuest News & Newspapers databases. Local and regional news media include daily, weekly and alt-weekly newspapers in the Flint and Detroit regions, as well as the digital outlet MLive.com. National news media include national newspapers and TV network evening programming. For a full list of news outlets, see the Methodology.

Source: Pew Research Center audit of local, regional and national news coverage of the Flint water crisis, Jan. 5, 2014–July 2, 2016.

Local/regional

Later in 2014, however, the first increase in search activity related to public health elements of the crisis coincided with government activity and a small uptick in local and regional media coverage. On Sept. 5, another advisory was issued, following more positive tests for coliform bacteria. During that same week, searches in Flint under the Public Health category increased 6% from the week before and continued to grow through the next two weeks. Over the three weeks, search interest in public health grew 25%. Local and regional news media also turned to the issue at slightly higher rates, producing 11 stories in the first two full weeks of September, up from just two during the two weeks prior.

Still, all these periods of heightened search activity in 2014 would not surpass the search levels in 2015 and 2016. Even though searches in the News and Media category in Flint reached, in August 2014, their second-highest point of the entire time range studied, the average search activity for this category was still lower overall in 2014 than in the other two phases. Proportionally, there were 18% more news searches per week in Flint 2015, on average, and 150% more in 2016. As with the News and Media category, Public Health searches would register much higher levels after 2014. Even though the week of Sept. 14, 2014, marked a notable rise in search activity related to Flint public health information, search interest for this category was relatively small compared with the two later phases (27% more Public Health searches in 2015 than in 2014, on average, and 235% more in first half of 2016 than in 2014).

Local and regional interest broadens, January-December 201

In 2015, Google searches by users in the Flint area moved beyond the unfolding facts of the news story itself to how the events were impacting their own lives. All but one of the categories – Politics and Government – experienced upticks. Still, all the increases occurred over a two-month time range and were again only in Flint and Michigan. National search interest and Twitter activity remained relatively flat over the course of 2015.

In 2015, the first notable instance of elevated search activity occurred in September. Google users in Flint searched for news about the crisis at heightened levels the week of Sept. 6, up 9% from the week before. Search interest continued to climb for another three weeks.

During that same first week in September, Flint residents also began connecting the crisis more directly to their own lives, with increased search activity in the Personal Health and Public Health categories. Searches related to personal health sustained heightened activity for a week longer than searches for news, hitting their second-highest point in the entire 2 ½-year time range.

Searches in the Public Health category also increased at the state level from the week starting on Sept. 6 through the week of Sept. 27 (a 268% rise over four weeks). Also during that time period, users across Michigan displayed a second round of elevated interest in learning more about the chemical and biological elements, though as in the first phase, the overall proportion of searches for this category remained below all others in Michigan).

Four search categories about the Flint water crisis saw increased activity in fall 2015

Public health and contaminants in Michigan

Personal health, public health and news in Flint

Genesee County issues public health emergency

High blood levels detected in Flint children. Flint issues lead warning

Lead advisory issued

Personal health

Public health

Contaminants

In early fall 2015, as more became known about the severity of the water contamination, residents in both Flint and across Michigan began searching intently about the personal and public health implications. Signs of increased activity in Flint began the week starting Sept. 6 , when searches related to personal health issues such as “Flint water bathing” and “tap water cloudy” grew 9% over the previous week and searches in the Public Health category such as “water pollution agriculture” and “lead test school” grew 2%. These were followed by continuous increases through the week starting on Oct. 4. Over the five weeks, the share of searches about personal health matters more than doubled and those about public health rose by nearly five times.

Personal and public health searches in Flint increased as evidence of water contamination mounted

Proportion of all Google searches that contain Flint water crisis-related terms for Personal Health or Public Health categories within Flint area

High blood lead levels detected in Flint children;

Flint issues lead warning

Flint reconnects

to Detroit water

Source: Pew Research Center analysis of Google Health API data for Jan. 5, 2014-July 2, 2016.

Flint reconnects to Detroit water

High blood lead levels detected in Flint children; Flint issues lead warning

Sep 24–25 High blood lead levels detected in Flint children;

Oct 1 Genesee County issues public health emergency

Oct 16 Flint reconnects to Detroit water

In addition, searches in Michigan under the Public Health category also experienced an increase from the week of Sept. 6 through the week of Sept. 27 (the proportion of searches more than tripled over these four weeks).

These five weeks of increased search activity coincided with a series of public reports and government actions that shed more light on the extent of the contamination, the individuals affected and the additional steps local residents needed to take. On Sept. 2, Marc Edwards, a researcher from Virginia Tech, released the results of tests he conducted on Flint water samples in which lead was found. This was followed by the results of tests conducted by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha , a pediatrician, who found that the number of children with elevated levels of lead in their bloodstream had doubled since the water source was switched in April 2014. In response, on Sept. 25, the city of Flint issued a lead warning and on Oct. 1 Genesee County declared a public health emergency .

Google searches in Flint for news related to the events also rose during this time period, up 9% the week of Sept. 6 and 76% the next week. They reached their high point the week of Sept. 27, for a total increase of 223% over the four-week time span. Even as events persisted and the county issued its emergency advisory, however, searches for news began to fall back, while those related to public or personal health continued to rise for another week.

Increased search activity in Flint coincided not only with events but also with heightened local and regional media coverage. In 2015, from the week starting Sept. 6 through the week beginning Oct. 4, researchers identified 154 news stories produced by the local and regional outlets audited. That compares with a total of 207 stories that were identified for all of 2015 prior to this point (week of Jan. 4 though week of Aug. 30). By contrast, national coverage remained largely flat throughout the year, with a small uptick from the week of Sept. 27 through the week starting Oct. 4; there were 10 stories identified in total over this two-week time range, up from virtually none since the beginning of 2015.

Flint water crisis draws local and regional news media attention as the extent of water contamination comes to light

State of emergency declared in Flint

City of Flint issues warning that water contains high levels of toxic byproducts

Gov. Snyder approves $2M for water system improvements

Jan 2 City of Flint issues warning that water contains high levels of toxic byproducts

Feb 3 Gov. Snyder approves $2M for water system improvements

Sep 25 Flint issues lead warning

Dec 14 State of emergency declared in Flint

The news coverage coincided very closely with the sharp boost in public desire to learn more about their own personal health and the state of health in their communities. In contrast with previous months, local and regional coverage in this instance remained elevated for a bit longer than public search interest. Even though search activity in public and personal health began to fall back down the week of Oct. 11, the local and regional media’s attention to the issue remained somewhat higher through much of November. Local and regional media outlets produced another 192 stories from the week of Oct. 11 through the week of Nov. 15.

A number of events in 2015 connected to the water crisis did not translate to any meaningful rise in search activity – even though some did receive media attention. On Jan. 2, for instance, the city published an advisory about too much disinfection byproduct in the water , and a heated City Hall meeting about the crisis was held on Jan. 21, followed seven days later by the distribution of bottled water in a giveaway program. In February, Gov. Snyder approved $2 million in infrastructure improvements , and in March the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in after Flint resident LeeAnne Walters’ son developed skin rashes ; subsequent tests of her home’s tap water found high levels of lead.

During this time, however, not one of the five search categories studied showed any major signs of increased search activity in any of the geographic areas studied. This was the case even amid elevated local and regional news coverage through early February of that year, which gradually declined as spring began.

Water safety concerns register nationally, January-July 2016

If 2015 was when interest among Flint-area residents turned personal, the first half of 2016 was when interest in water safety and the dynamics of the story registered nationally. High-level national activity and intense media coverage related to Flint aligned closely with individuals at the local, state and national levels turning to Google at an increasing rate to learn more about the different elements of the water crisis.

Public search interest grew dramatically in January 2016 across all aspects of the crisis, corresponding closely to significant events and heightened media coverage.

At the national level, searches about news and personal health issues showed some first small signs of increased activity the last week of December 2015, but it was in January 2016 that search activity really took off. From the week of Jan. 3 through the week of Jan. 24, searches for all five categories increased by up to 19 times what they were before.

Within Flint and across Michigan, the story was similar. In Flint, searches in all but the Contaminants category (data for this category were not available for Flint because the level of activity was below the privacy threshold required by Google)  started increasing the week of Dec. 27, 2015, and also reached their highest points the week of Jan. 24. And across the state, the same pattern of growth was found in all five search categories.

The involvement of the federal government in Flint’s water issues and the launch of national-level search activity coincided with accompanying national news coverage. On Dec. 14, 2015, a state of emergency was declared in Flint , followed about three weeks later by another state of emergency for Genesee County (containing Flint and the larger Flint DMA ) and the state of Michigan (Jan. 4-5, 2016). A week later (Jan. 12), the governor activated the Michigan National Guard to help distribute filters and bottled water, and, on Jan. 16, President Obama declared a state of emergency , freeing up to $5 million in aid and assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That same week (Jan. 10-16), local and regional news stories more than doubled from the week before: A total of 129 pieces were produced in the local and regional news media studied, compared with 55 the week prior. News stories found in national media studied here more than tripled during the same week from the week prior.

It is important to note that the total number of Flint-related news stories identified in national as well as in local and regional news media was much larger in 2016 than in the two years before, even though only half the year was studied in 2016. More than four times as many stories were found in local and regional coverage in 2016 as in the previous year (from 668 news stories audited in 2015 to nearly 3,000 stories in 2016). National media also experienced dramatic increases in 2016. For these first six months of 2016, researchers identified a total of 749 news stories in national media coverage about the Flint water crisis, up from 25 stories the year before. Coverage at both the national and regional levels did ebb and flow over these six months, often spiking when events occurred and lessening soon after – though it maintained a somewhat higher baseline of coverage than in 2014 or 2015.

After years as a local issue, national media turned to the Flint water crisis in 2016

President Obama declares state of emergency and offers $5M in aid

Criminal charges filed

State of emergency declared in Genesee County and Michigan

Democratic presidential candidates hold a debate in Flint

Obama addresses Flint

regional media

Pew Research Center audit of local, regional and national news coverage of the Flint water crisis, Jan. 5, 2014–July 2, 2016.

Jan 4–5 State of emergency declared in Genesee County and Michigan

Jan 16 President Obama declares state of emergency and offers $5M in aid

Mar 6 Democratic presidential candidates hold a debate in Flint

Apr 20 Criminal charges filed

May 4 Obama addresses Flint

The search data suggest that events in one region could spur people outside of that region to see whether similar events could affect them. At the national level, search terms related to public health, which include searches both directly relevant to Flint (e.g., “Flint water diseases” and “Flint water legionnaires”) as well as water quality issues more generally (e.g., “lead water health effects” and “lead water limit”) started rising in the week of Jan. 3 – up 60% from the week before. These searches continued to rise, reaching their peak the week of Jan. 24. In total, public health-related searches more than quadrupled over these four weeks. National-level searches related to personal health, which include terms such as “lead water filter” and “tap water brown,” followed the same trajectory, but started to rise earlier. On the week of Dec. 20, Personal Health searches rose a minimal 2% from the week before, also reaching their highest point in the week of Jan. 24 after continuous weekly increases, for a total of 46% growth over those six weeks.

In early 2016, the angle of the story that saw the most dramatic rise in search activity was political; until then, this search category had seen no increases in any region. During 2014 and 2015, search interest for political terms such as “Flint water bill Congress,” “water pollution legislation” and “Flint water Obama” did not register any heightened search interest in any of the geographic areas studied, but in January 2016, the proportion of searches under the Politics category climbed sharply. In Flint and across Michigan, politics-related searches started to rise a week earlier than they did across the entire country. In Flint, on the week of Dec. 27, 2015, these searches increased 34% from the week before, then continued to rise for another four consecutive weeks. Overall, interest in political searches in Flint grew by 522% over these six weeks. In Michigan, the pattern was the same. Political searches began to increase statewide the same week they did in Flint, also growing for five continuous weeks. These increases occurred about two weeks after Flint declared a state of emergency (Dec. 14) and around the same time that a state of emergency was issued in Genesee County and across the state (Jan. 4-5, 2016).

Political angle of Flint water crisis rose in searches both locally and nationally in January 2016 for the first time

Proportion of all Google searches that contain Flint water crisis-related terms for the Politics category within each geographic area

President Obama declares

state of emergency and

offers $5M in aid

presidential

declared in Genesee

County and Michigan

Proportion of all Google searches that contain Flint water

crisis-related terms for the Politics category within each

geographic area

addresses Flint

Democratic presidential

candidates hold a debate in Flint

President Obama declares state of

emergency and offers $5M in aid

State of emergency declared in

Genesee County and Michigan

Political angle of Flint water

crisis rose in searches both

locally and nationally in

January 2016 for the first time

Proportion of all Google searches that

contain Flint water crisis-related

terms for the Politics category within

each geographic area

Note: For details on search topic definitions and

sampling, see the Methodology.

Source: Pew Research Center analysis of Google

Health API data for Jan. 5, 2014-July 2, 2016.

As key political actors and the federal government became publicly involved in the Flint water crisis, political searches at the national level also came to the fore, posting a 363% growth the week of Jan. 3 from the week before. The proportion of searches continued to grow by 139%, 52% and 10% in the following three weeks. In total, political searches at the national level grew to 19 times from what they were prior to Jan. 3.

Even though all categories of Google searches about the Flint crisis reached their apex in January 2016, search interest continued at elevated levels through the end of the study, with smaller increases at key moments. Even after the January peak, the average activity across all categories and geographic areas remained higher than the averages in 2015. Averages from Jan. 31-July 2, 2016, ranged between 17% and 323% higher than averages for all of 2015, depending on the search category. At the same time, there were also smaller spikes in search activity, often tied to major events in the story, especially in the Politics search category. For instance, in the week starting March 6, 2016 – the week of the Democratic presidential primary debate in Flint, which addressed the water crisis – national searches for political terms rose 19% from the week before. Similarly, political searches in Michigan registered a 31% uptick that week over the week prior, and in Flint, the week-by-week increase was 20%. A similar bump upward occurred around the week the first criminal charges were filed (April 20), suggesting continued interest in the political outlook of the water crisis.

Conversation on Twitter about the Flint water crisis also exploded in January 2016. Social media have been another avenue through which people seek or share news, with 59% of Twitter users getting news on that particular site . Tweets about the Flint water crisis increased dramatically in January 2016; from the week of Jan. 10 through the week of Jan. 24, there were about 877,000 related tweets, up from about 58,000 the three weeks prior. By comparison, there were a total of about 7,000 tweets posted about the Flint water crisis in 2014, compared with about 92,000 in 2015 and about 2.1 million in the first half of 2016. Looking at the rate Twitter users were tweeting about the Flint water crisis, the weekly average number of tweets in the first half of 2016 skyrocketed compared with the weekly averages of 2014 and 2015: The weekly average number of tweets in 2014 was 139; it was 1,787 in 2015; and in the first half of 2016 it was 81,338. Moreover, the Twitter conversation remained elevated for a couple of weeks following the events in January before dropping off. As with search activity, interest on Twitter was renewed the week of the Democratic debate in Flint (nearly 127,000 tweets) and the week of April 17, 2016 (about 92,000 tweets), when criminal charges were filed against a Flint city official and two state workers tasked with monitoring water quality. Still, this resurgence of Twitter activity during these two events was much smaller than the number of tweets in January 2016.

Twitter conversation about the Flint water crisis took off in 2016

Total number of Twitter posts about the Flint water crisis per week across the U.S.

presidential candidates

hold a debate in Flint

Note: Data include all publicly available tweets from this period that contain the terms “Flint” and “water.”

Source: Pew Research Center analysis using Crimson Hexagon technology for Jan. 5, 2014–July 2, 2016.

hold a debate

Methodological note

This first foray by the Center into the Google Health API was as much an exploration of how analyses of search data can shed light on the public’s response to news and events as it was a study of the Flint water crisis. The detailed methodology  is an effort to openly share what we learned through this process, and an accompanying blog post sums up some of the key methodological takeaways .

Acknowledgments

This report was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of a number of individuals and experts at Pew Research Center. Google’s data experts provided valuable input during the course of the project, from assistance in understanding the structure of the data to consultation on methodological decisions.

Timeline of key events

• See for example Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, “ The cost of racial animus on a black candidate: Evidence using Google search data ,” Journal of Public Economics 118, 26-40. ↩
• During the month of July there were five stories identified in local and regional news coverage, mainly about the rising water prices due to the switch from Detroit’s water system to Flint River and one story about a protest organized by a local city councilman in response to the rising. There was also no point during these five weeks in which coverage rose above the baseline level even as search interest was rising through the week starting Aug. 3 in Michigan and Aug. 10 in Flint. ↩
• Similarly, the week of May 25 that News and Media searches peaked, there was one New York Times story about the business repercussions that a water supply switch would have on the city of Detroit. This could have had some impact on searches though the lack of local coverage and the fact that the piece did not focus at all on water quality, and the fact that searches had already begun to rise before the publication of the story suggests that this story could not have triggered the rise in searches. ↩

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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An Essay on the Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan

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Center for Social Development Policy Brief

Amy Krings , Dana Kornberg

The purpose of this brief is to describe the shortcomings of Michigan’s EM system and inform policymakers on potential improvements for its eventual replacement. We first frame the EM system within the logic and practice of urban austerity politics. Next, we demonstrate how emergency manager policies are not race-neutral approaches to solving urban financial crises. Rather, historically oppressed groups—and African Americans in particular—tend to absorb its costs. We conclude by considering what the Flint water crisis suggests about policy mechanisms that might prevent future environmental health crises, outlining the role of social workers in this process.

Jacques Kenjio

This paper explores the water crisis issue that crippled the community of Flint (Michigan) in early 2014, through 2015. Research findings attributed the root cause of the problem to the switch in the source of Flint water from River Huron in Detroit to the Flint River. This switch in the City’s water source came in response to Flint’s inability to continue to purchase water from Detroit because of the critical economic recession in which it found (and still finds) itself. The high rates of iron corrosion from using the Flint River water as a drinking water source was damaging the Flint water distribution system (Edwards, 2015, para. 8). The presence of huge amounts of lead in the Flint River is what contaminated the Flint drinking water, making it impossible for drinking. The lead water contamination greatly impacted the environmental, economic and health conditions of the residents of Flint. The children of Flint (especially those >5 years of age) presented high lead blood levels due to the lead water contamination problem, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods (Hannah-Attisha et al., 2015, p.283-290). The decision by the Dayne Walling (Mayor of Flint) in October 2015 to switch back the water system of Flint to its original source in Detroit provided a short term solution to the water crisis. Keywords: Water contamination, lead, City of Flint

Journal - American Water Works Association

Susan Masten

Environmental Justice

Brandon Ward

Catherine Plante

Abstract: The bankruptcy of General Motors was historical, not only because of the size but also because of the political nature of the process. The federal government was influential in the process which provided an outcome unique in the history of bankruptcy. This paper explores the implications of the General Motors bankruptcy on stakeholders especially those who unknowingly were exposed to risk. This paper puts into perspective how detrimental major bankruptcies can be, and it refutes the notion that only those who take a calculated financial risk are the only ones adversely affected by a bankruptcy.

Victoria Morckel

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• Intro/video
• Unheeded warnings
• A community responds
• All eyes on Flint
• Living with lead

Flint water crisis: A visual essay

The trek for water, next: all eyes on flint.

Click the image above to see the next chapter in this essay.

Siblings Julie, Antonio, and India Abron collect their daily allowance of bottled water from Fire Station #3. Located on Martin Luther King Avenue, it is one of five firehouses that have become water resource sites in Flint, Michigan.

Intimate Portraits of Flint Show Frustration, Fear, Perseverance

“For months we had city officials tell us that it was OK to drink the water. We all had different types of illnesses going on but we never thought it was from the water.”

The water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan , has forced the city's residents to dramatically change how they live. Everyday tasks like bathing, toothbrushing, and cooking have become difficult chores as the threat of lead poisoning and other maladies looms in the tap water.

Five of Flint’s fire stations now serve as bottled-water dispensaries. It's the only way many people can get potable water. Even though the city no longer draws its water from the contaminated Flint River, the pipes, which were damaged by the river water, continue to leach lead, and a federal disaster declaration remains in place.

These photos show the people behind the crisis, the people who can no longer trust the water that flows into their homes. Many are angry that the government didn’t act sooner . Records show state officials switched to drinking bottled water months before addressing the contaminations in Flint and months after residents first noticed an odd taste and smell to their tap water.

With an estimated 12,000 children exposed to lead-tainted water in Flint and a possibly related outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, the people of the city are worried about how much longer this will last.

Mary Ida Barnett-Pierce (left), Tyler Harger and Trisha Smith (right)

Barnett-Pierce stands outside Fire Station #3. Harger and Smith prepare to pick up their daily allowance of bottled water at the same site.

Teresa Terrell

“Well, this water situation … I don’t know why this couldn’t be fixed in the first place,” Terrell says. “It’s a lot of people, a lot of children, getting sick from this water. Even me and my children taking baths in it. We have little bumps, itchy bumps, on our arms.”

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“If they knew this all along,” she says, “why they didn’t do anything or warn the public ahead of time?”

Pastor Ernest C. Martin

“There hasn’t been a ray of hope on what you see coming across the news,” says Martin. “And it’s generally been mass hysteria, fear, and worry about this or either that. My spirit has been that there needs to be a ray of hope.”

Julie Bennett (left), Keonna, Kirk, and Antionette Miles (right)

“When the water first switched over I remember taking a shower and I’m like, ‘It smells so funny in here,’” Keonna Miles says. “And I remember probably a few months after that I started getting rashes, all around my neck, mainly. My neck would turn a bright red and it would just be stinging and burning and then it would dry up and start getting flaky and just still burning.”

“Several of my family members have been affected by the Flint water contamination,” Antionette Miles says. “For months we had city officials tell us that it was OK to drink the water, even showed us that they were drinking the Flint water. We all had different types of illnesses going on but we never thought it was from the water.”

“I done had several upper respiratory infections,” she says. “I done had skin rashes, hair loss. We cooked with the water, we bathed. I’m worried about two, three years from now, what else is gonna come up. Cancer. I’m worried about how it done affect the inside of my body that haven’t come out with the different tests yet.”

“You know how many babies here is affected now, man, for the rest of their lives?” Lathan asks. “And to my understanding and my little research it’s irreversible once you get lead poison in the brain. It’s nothing you can do about it. And it’s like giving a whale a Tic Tac for bad breath, man, giving us a case a water a day. How we supposed to bathe, man?”

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“I got a wife, and I got a daughter here,” he says. “I need way more than one case of water now. The people in charge need to take responsibility for what they’ve done to this city, man! People out here are mad as hell, man, and I’m one of ‘em.”

Nisa Lanoue and Brian Contreras

“There’s people out here that feed their kids formula. They’re feeding their babies and stuff with this water,” Lanoue says. “They have no choice because they don’t have a car to get out and go get the free water that’s being given. They don’t have the money to afford it and these kids are getting sick.”

“The hardest part about dealing with this water situation is having to do everything with the water,” Contreras says. “Bathing, cooking, washing—everything has to be done with bottled water … Our dogs drink bottled water. We brush our teeth with bottled water.”

“We can’t continue to bathe our kids with bottled water for the rest of their lives or until they’re 18,” he says. “That’s just not feasible.”

Reil Skinner

"When we did figure out that the water was bad, people like me that have sickle-cell disease, it affected me real bad,” says Skinner, on his way to collect a case of bottled water distributed by the Army National Guard. “From having my iron too high, blood count off, [I had to spend] days in the hospital."

“It's just, paying water bills and can't use the water," he adds. "I got an 11-year-old daughter and a three-year-old daughter. Give them a bath, they be itching like they ain't even been washed up, the water so bad. Make them break out and everything. They're scratching their skin to where it's turning to sores now from the water.”

Joseph Gibbs-Bey (left) and Janet Webb (right)

“I’ve been living in Flint, Michigan, for 65 years,” Webb says. “The water sent me to the hospital ‘cause my stomach was hurting me so bad. And they said it had to be something about the water because I never did stop drinking the water (I kept making Kool Aid ‘cause I’m a Kool Aid lover). Until they finally came out and put a sign on the street to stop drinking the water, that’s when I stopped. But by that time I had consumed a lot of it.

“It’s just not right the way they don’t wanna really do nothing about it,” she says. “I paid the price ‘cause it really got to me. I’m just now getting better. Every once in a while I’ll still have a bout with my stomach messing up.

“You know, you get over one hump and then is always something to throw you back. But I’m just thankful to God. He got my back … I’m a strong black woman. You can’t knock me down ‘cause I’m gonna keep right on moving.”

Mary and Pastor Franklin D. Johnson

“I have been in Flint, Michigan, all my life. I was born and raised here,” Pastor Franklin D. Johnson says. “We cannot keep getting bottled water delivered to us.”

“I’m just hurt,” Mary Johnson says. “I’m devastated. Because they told us lies after lies (‘The water is OK’), and I believed in my government.

“Flint is not rich, it’s minority,” she says. “Poor whites, poor blacks … and they knew about it? That hurts. If it wasn’t for the doctor at Hurley Medical Center , testing our children, we would be still drinking the water.”

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Flint Water Crisis

Infrastructure, Economy, Health, and Politics

In April 2014, an ill-fated decision to switch water sources triggered a series of governance and infrastructure failures that contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan’s seventh largest city, with high levels of lead. For residents of Flint, whose concerns about water quality went unaddressed for more than a year and whose children may suffer the lifelong effects of lead poisoning, the crisis has exacted an indescribable cost and driven deep fissures in public trust. For government leaders and regulators — in Michigan and nationally — it has been a merciless lesson in the political cost of deferring critical infrastructure investments and prioritizing economic concerns over the provision of clean, safe water.

Five officials, including the head of the state’s health department, were charged with involuntary manslaughter on June 14, 2017.

Flint Residents Unimpressed by Snyder Charges Linked to Lead Poisoning

Water Inequality Used to be a Developing World Problem Only. Not Any More.

In Flint Water Crisis, EPA’s Friendly Relationship with State Regulators Delayed Use of Legal Authority

Michigan Lawmakers Regroup in Human Right to Water Effort

Undermanned EPA Delays Action on Lead in Drinking Water

In Flint Water Probe, Five Officials Face Involuntary Manslaughter Charge

No Filter: Treating Drinking Water at the Faucet Is Rarely a Utility’s Contamination Solution

2017 Preview: Flint Lead and Infrastructure Troubles Remain

After Flint Failure, EPA Refocuses Federal Drinking Water Role

Voices from flint: life without water.

“This poor community has just been raped over and over and over. Water is a human right. This is unfathomable in America. This is crazy.”

“We also can’t forget about the undocumented immigrants that are here. They’re not going to knock on anyone’s door, so you’ve got to go find them.”

Click to read Bullied in School: A despondent father talks about his sons’ lead poisoning .

Church as Oasis

Pastor Will Morgan reflects on Flint’s Water Crisis.

“Is this economic racism?” asks Pastor Will Morgan, a lifelong Flint resident, General Motors retiree and reverend of the Apostolic Church, which has become a water distribution point for residents on Flint’s impoverished east side.

Morgan offers a history lesson of Flint’s woes since GM packed up and left town, taking tens of thousands of jobs with it. The economic depression; the soaring murder rates; the state’s imposition of an emergency manager on Flint; the closing of two of the city’s four public high schools (as in Detroit, plaster falls from the rafters, and rats stalk the halls); water rates that were raised five different times; the putrid water that was too corrosive for General Motors, and too risky for Governor Rick Snyder’s own staff, but deemed good enough for Flint residents to drink.

“Because this is Flint, an economically depressed, and mostly black community, this was allowed to go on,” Morgan says.

The five cities under state receivership, he adds, are all Democratic strongholds, whereas Michigan is controlled at all levels of government by Republicans.

Morgan is working with other African American churches in Flint to distribute bottled water. Donations are mounting. A semi-truck came last week from Kansas City; water donations came from a motorcycle group in Detroit; Boston called, too. But he recently saw an elderly woman in an electric wheelchair trying to navigate a snow-covered street with a case of water in her lap. The sight convinced him that the fire stations and the National Guard were not doing enough to distribute water.

“We want to target those who cannot get out,” Morgan says. “We also can’t forget about the undocumented immigrants that are here. They’re not going to knock on anyone’s door, so you’ve got to go find them.”

In the void left by local and state government, churches are stepping up. One of Morgan’s mantras is “If they’re hungry, feed ‘em. If they’re naked, clothe ‘em.”

Morgan’s 4-year-old granddaughter, Malia Rae Brackett, broke out in rashes from bathing in the water. He compared her skin lesions to the Flint child on the cover of TIME Magazine. “She has eczema and her skin broke out after she was playing outdoors. At first we thought it was because of the sun.” Finally, the water’s taste and smell convinced the family to stop using it.

Morgan, himself, limits his showers to three minutes so that the high chlorine count in the water doesn’t burn his skin.

He considers the $US 28 million that Snyder and the legislature have allocated to Flint, and the influx of bottled water, to be nothing more than a Band-Aid.

“The governor says we have a $US 500 million surplus, and he only releases $US 28 million? Shame on you. Shame on you for usurping the rights of people,” Morgan says.

As told to Jacob Wheeler.

Photo by J. Carl Ganter.

Student journalists at the  White Pine Press , the student-run newspaper at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, contributed to Circle of Blue’s reporting in Flint.

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“I’d go to the doctor and they’d encourage me to keep applying cream. They didn’t know what it was.”

“The trust is gone. I don’t trust them anymore. You harm my children, and you harm me.”

Bullied in School

A despondent father talks about his sons’ lead poisoning.

Davon Davenport, a 9 year-old fourth grader in Flint, used to get A’s and B’s in his classes. But his grades have plummeted over the last two years. His father, David, thinks his eldest son was poisoned by lead in their drinking water. Davon has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, and fellow students now bully him.

“The kids pick on him in school,” said Davenport. “They ask him if he’s high.”

The boy’s slide coincides with the Flint water crisis, and the lead that leached into the public water system after the city switched to the Flint River. David Davenport, 48, began to notice dark scars on his body about 18 months ago, and he attributes it to baths he took using municipal water.

“I’d go to the doctor and they’d encourage me to keep applying cream. They didn’t know what it was.”

He also noticed that every time he tried to cook with the water or make Kool-Aid he immediately had to use the restroom.

His 6-year-old, Deshaun Jenkins, has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiance Disorder since Flint’s water was poisoned. Davenport says the boy has attitude problems in school and flips off his teacher and other students.

The single father of three holds government officials accountable for the crisis, from the Flint city council to Gov. Rick Snyder.

Davenport, who served on Flint’s board of education for 6 years, is grateful for the free bottled water that has descended on his town, but he wants the state or federal government to set up a free hospital that can test for lead.

“If you really care, stop playing politics and get everyone in this city tested, on the state’s dime, to see if their life is in danger.”

The water crisis has destroyed Davenport’s trust in his elected officials.

“Rick Snyder says, ‘I got rid of (culpable state environmental officials). Trust me again’… No! I’m not gonna give you two times to kill me.”

“The trust is gone. I don’t trust them anymore. You harm my children, and you harm me.”

Photo by Krystn Madrine.

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Essay reflects on poisoned water in flint, mich., and how we teach.

When events that are understood to be tragic happen, like the poisoning of the residents of Flint, Michigan, it is typical for us, as human beings, to ask, “Why?” When these events affect whole communities, it then becomes incumbent upon us, as human beings, to ask, “How could this happen?” — because the cause is far less likely to be a random occurrence. Students tend to sense this connection intrinsically, but struggle to think critically about causal factors in situations like Flint.

In classroom discussions, students will often respond to stories of severe environmental pollution in one of two ways.

Sometimes they express bewilderment. They feel the inherent injustice, but cannot fathom a reason for the damage to people’s health and well-being.

The other common response — voiced by one of my students this week in talking about the toxic waste in Flint’s drinking water — is to say, “It’s almost as if someone planned it.”

It is easy to see conspiracy behind a series of what were, with the benefit of hindsight, a series of despicable acts leading to the potential devastation of an entire community, particularly a community already so disadvantaged and seemingly disposable as Flint. To our shame, in the United States we have long since become terribly inured to the suffering of communities of color and poor communities.

But while it is easy to imagine a conspiracy of evilly inclined individuals, such as politicians, plotting to wipe out a community like Flint, this perspective avoids the hard conversations we need to have with our students and others. Explicitly evil intentions are not required in order for great harm to be perpetrated. I am not suggesting that politicians, such as Rick Snyder, are “innocent” in this situation — far from it. Rather, we need to be having frank discussions, leading to actions, about how our culture rewards greed at the expense of human life — especially the lives of the poor and oppressed minorities.

We must, as educators and students, together answer the question, “How could this happen?” The fact is that people with the power to protect the lives of Flint residents chose not to do so. Not once, but many times, people in a position to make decisions about sourcing the water, about testing the water, about reporting the test results and health impacts, made decisions for financial gain or political expedience. And our cultural system (encompassing, for example, economics, social relations and ideologies) reinforced the permissibility, the very social and political acceptability of those decisions. There were undoubtedly both legal and moral crimes committed — but accountability for these crimes should weigh heavily on all of us.

In the aftermath of a public health crisis like that in Flint, there are likely to be emerging narratives of the heroic actions of empowered individuals, those who seem to swoop in as community saviors. However, a culture of community engagement cannot, and will not, wait for such heroes, as significant as their contributions may be. As one Flint resident and activist has been quoted as saying, “I decided, I guess I got to figure the science part of this, because you can’t argue with the science.” In the pursuit of environmental justice, there is no substitute for the actions of “non-experts” with local knowledge and local commitment. But it is also our responsibility to teach and reward this commitment to collective good on a broad scale, more than we currently reward (or at least accept) harmful self-interest and the violence of disinterest in the well-being of others.

It is also tempting to rely on the explanation of “bad apples,” or individual actors, as is so often used to describe the causes of violence and social suffering perpetrated by institutions. But these explanations are too simple, and release us from our own obligations to care for our fellow human beings. How could this happen? The answer lies in a larger examination of our culture, and our individual roles in it.

Alexa S. Dietrich teaches anthropology at Wagner College, where she is also the faculty director of Wagner’s First-Year Learning Communities. Her book, “The Drug Company Next Door” (NYU Press, 2013), won the 2015 Julian Steward Award for the best monograph in environmental and ecological anthropology from the American Anthropological Association.

This essay was first published by NYU Press on Feb. 1 on its “From the Square” blog . It is reprinted here by permission.

IN THIS STORY

Alexa dietrich.

• Behind the Photos

Photographing Flint’s Water Crisis From the Inside

U ntil January of 2015, Jake May, chief photographer at the Flint Journal, drank Flint tap water. Eight months earlier, the Michigan city had made the decision to start pumping its water from the Flint River, unaware, at first, that the liquid’s higher acidity would cause an unprecedented lead contamination.

Now, Flint has been thrust onto the national spotlight, after the true extent of its water crisis was finally revealed. But the story is not news to May: for the last 22 months, with the help of two interns, he has been following the story, and living it too. His coverage started with the celebratory press conferences the city organized when it made the decision to switch water sources. But even that “media-friendly events” showed signs of the conflict that was to come. Already, a couple dozen people were publicly opposing the move. “They have been there from the start,” May says. “They’ve always said: ‘There’s something wrong with the water.’ They didn’t know what it was. But they knew it was wrong. They could tell by the smell and the taste.”

In 2014, these protesters were often written off as crazy, says May. But around January 2015, they enlisted Virginia Tech University professor Marc Edwards, who had years earlier uncovered unsafe levels of lead in Washington, D.C.’s water supply. Asked by the people of Flint to test the water, he brought back results that won the attention and respect of a worried populace. It was, says May, the “switching point.”

For the photographer, it was important to document this issue not only because he’s in the middle of it—“I still bathe in [the water] daily,” he says—but also because it will continue to affect the community for years to come. “This is not something that will be done and over when the national spotlight gets off of Flint in a couple of weeks,” he says. “We’re still going to deal with what’s going on for the next lifetime.”

Right now, however, that spotlight is shining full-force: Gov. Rick Snyder apologized for the crisis and pledged financial support, while President Obama allocated $5 million of federal assistance. The wide attention inspires May even more, to tell the story of the community while he has the eyes of the world watching.

To achieve that goal, May has been sharing his photographs on Instagram ( @jakemayphoto ) in an effort to reach a wider audience beyond Michigan. “This is, honestly, a story about the voice of the people,” he says. “The city of Flint’s residents wanted to be heard, and they were relentless.”

Jake May is the chief photographer at the Flint Journal. Follow him on Instagram @jakemayphoto .

Myles Little , who edited this photo essay, is a senior photo editor at TIME.

Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent

Follow TIME LightBox on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

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'We Fear the Water'

• Emily Anne Epstein
• February 7, 2016

Brittany Greeson began photographing the Flint water crisis in the spring of 2015, when what is now a nationally-recognized health emergency was a local Michigan headline. As an intern for The Flint Journal , Greeson documented the small protests outside City Hall, talking to frustrated residents asking for clean and affordable drinking water. “ The only thing I could do to help would be to pick up my camera,” she said. Greeson teamed up with The Ground Truth Project to produce her essay, "We Fear the Water," which shows how residents' daily lives have been impacted by this man-made disaster . In Flint, people have to drag suitcases of water down snow-covered streets, children have to have their fingers regularly pricked for lead testing and families bathe in baby wipes for fear of rashes. Who is to blame? What are the long-term effects of exposure to contaminated water? These questions are luxuries to the citizens of Flint, who have to decide if they can buy food or bottled water. “ This story isn’t finished yet,” Greeson said . “ So naturally, I’m not finished yet either.”

• Email/span>

Gladyes Williamson smells a jar of water from her tap on January 13, 2016. Williamson has been recording her struggle with Flint's water crisis since the city switched water sources in early 2014. #

Journey Jones, 3, sits on the kitchen floor in her family's home as her brother Iveon Jones, 2, reaches for a bottled water on January 17, 2016. The pair are two of six children living in the home, all of whom have had elevated levels of lead in their blood. #

A message illuminates the Genesee County jail during a protest by the Detroit Light Brigade in downtown Flint on January 8, 2016. #

Earlene Love, 64, prays alongside her peers as protestors gather outside the Romney building, which houses the office of Governor Rick Snyder, in Lansing, Michigan, on January 14, 2016. #

The Flint River weaves through downtown from the University of Michigan-Flint's Northbank Center on January 6, 2016. The river was the city's main water source since the spring of 2014, following a switch from the Detroit Department of Water and Sewerage. #

Local residents wait in line to pick up Brita water filters at the Flint Fire Department on January 15, 2016. Following the declaration of a state of emergency, local fire stations began acting as water resource centers where residents could pick up filters, lead testing kits, and cases of bottled water. #

A man drags a suitcase full of bottled water away from Firehouse #3, where the Red Cross distributed supplies on January 12, 2016. Many citizens lack viable transit options, which means they must use the city's meager bus system to get heavy cases of bottled water home to their families. #

Janice Berryman, 71, cries while sitting in her bedroom after being asked what the most difficult part of Flint's ongoing crisis was. She said it was loneliness, as members of her family visit less often due to the state of the water in the city. Berryman has lived in the city of Flint her entire life. #

Ti' Nisha Norman, 11, gets her blood tested at Freeman Elementary School's Family Fun and Lead Testing night on January 12, 2016. #

Protestors circle around a balcony at the Michigan State Capitol building chanting for Governor Rick Snyder's resignation during a demonstration in Lansing, Michigan, on January 14, 2016. #

A woman carries a case of bottled water to her car outside of Firehouse #3 in Flint, Michigan, on January 12, 2016. Families were alotted one to two cases, which some residents said was not enough. #

Aireal Sweet, 10, and Amaria Dirrell, 8, brush their teeth using bottled water in the bathroom of their family's home on January 17, 2016. The girls and their siblings were blood tested for lead and all came back with elevated levels. #

A man looks at a protestor dressed as Michigan Governor Rick Snyder during a demonstration organized by the Detroit Light Brigade in front of Flint City Hall on January 8, 2016. #

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha at her office in the Hurley Children's Center in Flint on January 15, 2016. Dr. Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician, organized a team of researchers to see if lead was poisoning Flint's children. “What we found was contrary to everything that’s been going on in the country and in the city of Flint. The percentage of children with lead poisoning had increased,” Dr. Hanna-Attisha said. “Here we are in 2016, in the middle of the Great Lakes, and we don’t have access to safe drinking water and we have just given an entire population lead.” #

Flint's Mayor Karen Weaver answers questions from the media as Flint Police Chief James Tolbert looks on from behind an American flag during a press conference announcing Gov. Rick Snyder's approval for a state of emergency in Genesee County on January 1, 2016. #

Stephanie Webber, 20, bows down her head in frustration after hearing that if she is to test positive for lead, she will no longer be able to donate blood in Flint, Michigan, on January 13, 2016. Webber is an active blood donor who recently reached a gallon of blood donated. #

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected].

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Flint Is Family   (2016)

A creative solution for the water crisis in Flint, Michigan

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Essay: Flint water crisis case study

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CASE BACKGROUND

The Flint water crisis case study , will examine how the state and city government officials handled the situation through communicative and management practices, highlighting key issues and concepts surrounding polluter pays principle, decision making and recommendations on communication strategies, whilst providing solutions for the aftermath. The crisis started in March 2014, when state officials switched the water supply to the Flint River, known to be polluted. The river was a short-term source until the connection to the new Karegnondi Water Authority could be made. Though failure of government officials which include governor Rick Snyder, Mayor Dayne Walling, state employees and the Michigan Environmental Protection Agency, has led to thousands of Flint residents to be poisoned via means of their drinking water due to negligence of proper treatment.

IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS:

In March 12, 2014, the flint river water strategy began to take effect, with resident beginning to use the water on April 2014. However, what followed was a year of complaints due to the drastic decline in quality. Therefore, leading to numerous health scares such as high levels of led within children, an e-Coli outbreak and Legionnaires disease, before the choice to switch back to the Detroit water supply in October 2015 was made.

Through this case, there were numerous issues. The main being in March 2014 when the water supply change was made. Both city and state authorities made the choice to spare the locale $200 million dollars throughout the following 25 years. While both authorities were attempting to set aside extra cash, their choice to switch, brought Flint’s tap water to became contaminated with high lead levels (Cottingham 2017). Residents reacted by complaining about the taste and smell of the new water. However, authorities disregarded their claims. Though once the issue escalated to a nationwide drama depicted by news authority’s on a international level a rush to change back to the Detroit’s water supply was met with overwhelming approval by citizens nationally. Though no liability was taken by authorities in power of the decision in the first place as the problem at that point was irreversible and Flint residents were poisoned.

MAJOR PROBLEMS IN THE CASE

As the crisis unfolded, advertising strategies were non-existent. Rather than effectively looking for a PR firm to make sense of how to converse with the general population in Flint, the administration authorities chose to conceal the circumstance. As Governor Snyder, opted for a quiet cover up. Numerous individuals within his administration voiced concerns during yet were disregarded. Whilst the representative’s office stated, “authority is vital, its absence can contribute to a catastrophic situation” (Ebbs, 2018) when discussing the obdurate controversy surrounding governor Snyder’s decision.

After Snyder recognized the issue, a $12 million plan was put into place to revert back to the Detroit water supply. Whilst the message to the general population was that the circumstance was much more horrific than he comprehended and acknowledged. His duty regarding the water emergency and a promise to work until each individual in Flint had clean water. Also guaranteeing an extra $28 million to assist the procedure. Oosting (2016) states the problem was escalating and kept deteriorating. Citizens becoming furious with Snyder’s actions as the emergency progressed. As the governor’s carelessness started to surface, and the general population was confounded and offended. Challenges to his office started as a result, and many even said he ought to be placed in prison. The blend between social media and the crisis involvement with the government gave the Flint water crisis a national stage.

Due to the investigation, Snyder chose to contract two PR firms to help with crisis management, Mercury Public Affairs and Bill Nowling. He stated, “This enables our staff to remain concentrated on helping the general population of Flint. State reserves are not being utilized.” The Michigan Moving Forward Website was refreshed to incorporate a logo and donation form. The reactions to the PR campaign were negative. As Snyder additionally showed up on the TV syndicated program “Morning Joe,” in which he set the fault on the workers of the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

CONTROVERSY

There is the presumption this started as a race driven crisis . A significant number of the inhabitants in Flint are African American and of low financial standing. As Maher (2016) states people in Flint didn’t have trust in the administration and felt though it was personal as many believe it would have been progressively important in a city dominatingly Caucasian. With references to the Tuskegee analyse, that tried on African American men under falsifications, and caused numerous fatalities somewhere in the range of 1932 and 1972. The most noticeably awful part about the suppositions for this situation is that there is no reasonable marker of reality. The circumstance has not been settled and the larger suspicion is that it will take billions of dollars and numerous years for the emergency to be totally settled.

ALTERNATIVES WITH PREFERRED RATIONALE

Officials in Flint, Michigan changed water supply in 2014 but the water wasn’t treated properly, exposing city residents to elevated lead levels that are considered harmful to young children. (Ebbs, 2018) Prior to the water that Flint gained from Detroit hadn’t been treated in the wake of being sourced from both Lake Huron and Detroit River. Issues with water from Flint River began when it was found that the water was intensely contaminated with lead and hence hazardous for human consumption. Lead from the maturing funnels had broken up into the water subsequently turning into a general medical problem particularly among youngsters. Mamerow (2018) states EPA and the state of Michigan are at fault for the contamination crisis in which nearly 100,000 residents were exposed to unsafe levels of lead. The significant endeavour was to guarantee that Flint water was safe for human use as it had a variety of wellbeing consequences for the city’s populace.

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

• Despite the fact that the city prevented securing water from Detroit with the point of cost-cutting on its budgetary distributions, Flint could have kept purchasing water from a similar source until such when the authorities were prepared to actualize the city’s arrangement of getting water from Flint River.
• Since the current water channels had been laid quite a long while back, the city ought to have substituted existing ones as they were old and eroded. In spite of the fact that this could have cost the city impressive assets, it could have guaranteed that the harmful lead issue was tended to or even prevented.

As of now, despite the fact that the water funnels are being usurped, there is the general inclination that the populace is hesitant to utilize the water given the previous couple of years that they have encountered. In spite of the fact that these feelings of dread are settling with the progression of time, as using substitute channels meant it could have been useful in cost cutting objectives (Hohn, 2016). Further, Flint water could have been examined in order to make it acceptable for open use and the state informed the EPA that no corrosion control was in place (Report). Though the EPA stated the lead level were under levels harmful to people. While this was useful, given that the home channelling frameworks in Flint had not been supplanted, the city’s water and Sewerage Company could likewise take a shot at an arrangement of packaging the water with the goal that the occupants could get to it from different outlets. To validate that the filtered water was safe President Obama stated during his visit “ If you’re using a filter, if you’re installing it, then Flint water at this point is drinkable .” (Korte, 2016). Bringing back the certainty of the living arrangement in using a filtration system.

The biggest part for this situation has to do with the information. In many cases, in advertising, we search for information to clarify the why and how a circumstance happened, just as the results. It can likewise regularly uncover designs in correspondence that might possibly be compelling. Most of the partners and influencers for this emergency incorporated the Department of Environmental Quality, governor’s office, Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State Police, Department of Talent and Economic Development and the Department of Treasury and Management. The crisis had a few variables of information that added to its outcomes. Beneath they have been arranged by exclusive, appointed and curated information.

• 91 cases of legionnaires (a severe type of pneumonia caused by the legionella bacteria) (George, 2018)
• Flint is 53% African American, which caused distrust to shape. Leading many people to believe that if the subject was one in a largely white neighbourhood the problem would be majorly publicised. Leading to racial bias to be questioned.
• January 2015, Department of Water Safety Division offered to relink Flint to its preceding clean source for $4 million, in its place governor Snyder decided on $2 million to fix the water system instead.
• Lawsuits began after this information went public and the EPA advisory board to issue more then 1800 water shut off notices to Flint residents who failed to pay water bills for water they couldn’t drink.
• February 2015, Virginia Tech researchers found lead levels 13,200 parts per billion, whereas water is considered hazardous at 5,000 ppb. With lead levels in children and babies doubled. Leading to the Centre of Disease Control becoming involved and notification was sent to all residents each signed by a safety assistant. Which were sent due to the Michigan Safe Water Act which was established in 1967.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

A key component to the reaction plan for this of type of emergency, is coming up short since it’s anything but a present impression of the occasions. The best way to create trust amongst the effected is to make dynamic public statements about the present condition of the emergency in both online and print form to communicate with residents. The message needs to be transparent, certain and clear on every single authority source. Transparency needs to be practised by discharging week by week tests of the water, alongside furnishing transcripts of the correspondence with state authorities that notice the water emergency in any specific situation. These criteria ought to be sanctioned so as to keep up trust and give a feeling of urgency amid this emergency. As choice criteria for an arrangement of activity must incorporate the contribution of the individuals who live Flint. The website that was devoted to the Flint water crisis isn’t forward-thinking and comes up short as Flint residents would need to be educated on the specifics of the matter in order to better understand the problem and the solutions being proposed and a up to date recount of the repair work as it advances.

Whilst the flint water case is still one which is ongoing, the situation is quite all over the place, lies, cover-ups and damage are shocking. Throughout the crisis officials of the town had resources and opportunities to reverse the damage and solve the problem. Through the distribution of safe water, accepting of Detroit’s reconnection offer and the hiring of a PR firm to properly explain the problem at hand. Though they chose an alternative route leaving much sick waiting due to state official’s failure. Consequently, the citizens of Flint have lost their trust in state officials who were voted into office to take care of them, resulting in a mistrust for future undertakings.

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• Essay on Water

Water Crisis In Flint, Michigan Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Water , Health , Pollution , Water Pollution , Crisis

Published: 01/24/2022

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Clean water is an essence of every human’s life, however, in Flint, Michigan; residents are consuming contaminated water after the water source was changed from Detroit water to Flint River. The contamination of the water has caused serious health problems to the public. However, the lead contamination in the Flint water can be addressed. For instance, if offered an opportunity to warrant that the water crisis is solved, I would ensure that all the piping is replaced and upgraded. In addition, I will make sure that the water is thoroughly treated before it is released to the residents. Lastly, I will ensure that the health problems related to the Flint water contamination are dealt with immediately. Apart from upgrading and replacing the contaminated pipes, cleaning/treating the water is essential. This will help in addressing the health implications of the high levels of lead consumed by the residents from the contaminated water. Treating the water will prevent lead from leaching into the drinking water systems. While the process of cleaning the water is undergoing, the residents should be encouraged to use water filters always before they consume the water. Lastly, it is imperative to deal with the health issues the residents have been exposed to due to the elevated lead contents in their water. I will make sure that the health ramifications caused by the Flint water crisis is dealt with to relieve the residents from their suffering. In essence, the Flint water crisis can be solved by a combination of upgrading/replacing the contaminated pipes, treating the water before it reaches the taps, and dealing with the health issues brought up by the water contamination crisis.

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