Flint Water Fiasco

           Fresh water to drink and shower is often taken for granted in a place like Pleasanton. Although we’ve been in a drought for some time, we’re still able to live a happy normal life with the amount of water that we have. Things are not as easy in places such as Flint, Michigan.

Flint is a city located 70 miles north of Detroit. Around 42% of the 98,310 residents live below the poverty line. Initially, Flint’s water supply fund was $9 million (which wasn’t enough in the first place), but shortfalls in its general fund caused officials to use some of this $9 million to cover for them.

In 2014, the city switched water sources in order to reduce the water fund shortfall. A new pipeline began to be built connecting Flint to Lake Huron, and the city used the Flint River as a water source, as the pipeline was under construction for 2 years.

The water in the Flint River downstream of Flint had a history of being of poor quality, and was worsened to a great extent in the 1970s, because of “the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances.” What they weren’t well aware of was the water quality upstream.

Flint has been providing its citizens with packages of plastic water bottles, but with the excessive use of plastic and the major inconvenience that it is, it isn’t the best option. However, the solution to the problem is so expensive (new lines could cost more than $275 billion) that it is very nearly impossible to get this fixed in an instant. Some people have suggested filters, seeing that a carbon filter would clean out the lead, but others say that it isn’t just lead that affects the water, but other contaminants roam through the river as well.

Since late April, 2014, Flint, Michigan has been using water from the Flint River, after using Lake Huron (Detroit) water for over 50 years. This decision was made in an effort to save $5 million dollars, but later went on to impact the citizens of Flint in a grave manner. Today, the Flint water crisis is yet to be dealt with, and your help is much needed. Below are some organizations that are directing money and service towards the mending of the Flint fiasco.

http://www.helpforflint.com/action
http://www.unitedwaygenesee.org/flintwaterfund