Flint’s water troubles, in a sense, began with its economic woes that prompted the state to take budgetary control in 2011.
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January 29, 2016)- Showing kindness to strangers was truly displayed when Hoosiers stepped up to donate enough bottled water to fill six semi-trucks to head to Flint, Michigan.
Tests began in the last week in December, and 26 sites out of about 4,000 showed the higher levels. Government officials told residents the water was safe, but many Flint residents ended up with severely high levels of lead in their blood resulting in a range of serious health problems. She encouraged residents to have their water tested immediately before using filters. The water wasn’t properly treated, and it corroded the pipes, causing unsafe amounts of lead in the drinking water.
Listen below to AM 760’s Brett Winterble as he weighs in on the Flint water controversy and the government bureaucracies who continue to ignore the basic needs of everyday citizens.
Before signing the aid legislation, Snyder said, “It’s time to stand up and recognize that things could have been done differently”. Federal, state and local officials have flocked to the town to address the lead problem and work on a fix.
In an open “letter to America”, the activist director implored people not to send bottled water, and instead called for them to “go to bat for the forgotten of Flint“.
There are 3 members of the Committee who are from Michigan, Democrat Brenda Lawrence and Republicans Tim Walberg and Justin Amash. The two lawmakers say officials must hear from everyone involved to understand how the crisis in Flint occurred and how a similar problem can be prevented.
“The American people deserve a full accounting of this man-made disaster”, Lawrence said.
Spokesman Dave Murray said he didn’t know if workers promoted that it was available, but no signs prohibited the public from drinking water from the coolers. Water was provided until the summer, he said, and then returned in October after a public health emergency was declared.
Lurie said that the United States Department of Agriculture has approved a request for additional money so that Flint schools can purchase and serve foods high in calcium, iron and Vitamin C in response to potential lead exposure in Flint children.
The city’s water is now undrinkable after it became contaminated when Flint switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River as a cost-cutting move. In Flint, the department has used this system to visit those citizens and make sure they have the clean water they need for procedures like dialysis and tube feeding.
The Republican governor says “other things like that have been going on for some time now”.
The Cleveland Water Department said it collects and tests 300 water samples per day and follows Ohio EPA standards. Residents noticed the water smelled and looked dirty, but they were told by officials that the water was safe to drink. That water proved to be so toxic and corrosive it leached lead out of city pipes, which means that thousands of children are at risk of developmental damage.
Snyder has promised to propose more funding for Flint in his upcoming budget proposal.
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Indeed, other cities have experienced lead crises without the fanfare that accompanied the current situation in Flint.
