Protesters marched from Woodside Church to City Hall for the conclusion of the Water Justice Journey, which started Friday, July 3, in Detroit.
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In the year since the city of Flint switched its source of drinking water from Detroit’s system to the Flint River, there have been problems.
A public health emergency has been declared in cash-strapped Flint after tests showed the Michigan city’s water supply is causing elevated levels of lead in children and following months of complaints about the smell and taste. The statistics are worse for younger children; those under fifteen months old had lead levels elevated 2.5 times greater after the switch to Flint River water. Studies showed that in a few areas lead levels doubled and, in two local zip codes, the levels tripled.
Accelerating corrosion controls in the Flint drinking water system.
It’s 2015 and believe it or not, it’s only been roughly five years since the geopolitical powers deigned it time to finally pass a United Nations resolution calling access to drinking water a “basic human right”.
Through December 2014, Flint’s water was testing at 6 parts per billion for lead, Snyder said.
But in September, Virginia Tech researchers released a report saying Flint’s water was creating a health threat in old homes that have lead pipes or pipes fused with lead solder.
When water flows through copper and lead pipes, it can take up a few of the metal and make the water unsafe.
“In terms of a mistake, what I would say is we found there are probably things that weren’t as fully understood when that switch was made”, the governor said Wednesday.
How could one of Michigan’s major cities be facing this problem?
“The first step should be to overturn the emergency manager order and remove the Flint River as the city’s source of water”.
State officials are still investigating, but among the differences in how the cities treat their water is that the Detroit system, which taps Lake Huron, adds a corrosion control agent called orthophosphate to prevent lead in pipes getting into the water, said Brad Wurfel, spokesman for the environmental regulatory agency.
The full plan, detailed by officials with the state Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human Services, also includes a commitment from the city to continue free water testing, provide free water filters, and names the state’s chief medical executive as the Flint drinking water public health adviser.
“We’re going to commit to working with the city to accelerate the long-term replacement of lead service lines”, DEQ’s Wyant said.
He says his biggest concerns have been alleviated since the advisories about lead in the water have been put out. Donations and grant funds will purchase 5,250 water filters for Flint residents.
But Genesee County health officials say they’ll need 20,000 water filters to meet the need.
Less than a week ago, Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha confirmed at a press conference that lead levels in the bloodstreams of Flint children were significantly higher after the disconnect from the DWSD.
Tomorrow, we’re supposed to hear from the state about what it plans to do to tackle the problem.
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Lead filters, flushing the water, and treatment can be used to mitigate the problem of lead in the water. Nobody should be surprised when the rabbit comes out of the hat, even if they can’t figure out how it is done … while the state appreciates academic participation in this discussion, offering broad, dire public health advice based on a few quick testing could be seen as fanning political flames irresponsibly.
