It was about a year ago when Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of the Hurley Medical Center told residents of Flint, Michigan, that their water was poisoned. Flint residents had been complaining about the color and odor of the water from almost the beginning; the city had switched its water source from the Detroit River to the Flint River in late April 2014. The switch was supposed to save Flint about $5 million dollars. What it gave to the city’s children however was elevated levels of lead contamination. Flint’s residents had been assured the water was safe drink by its leaders but the residents knew something was wrong. They just didn’t know what it was.
Where do things stand currently in Flint? That’s a good question. According to MLive (Michigan Live),
= State officials claim the water is safe to drink (again) as long as the residents use filters and change them regularly.
"Federal and state government scientists as well as independent water quality experts are saying the filters the state is providing in Flint make the water safe for everyone to drink, even in homes that may still have high lead levels," said Ari Adler, spokesman for [Gov.] Snyder. "One of the key things is the participation of residents in making sure the filter cartridges are replaced when needed, that they clean their faucet aerators regularly and that they keep the water flowing in Flint to help the entire system recover faster."
But, many residents, including Bingham, Sanders and Hensley, don't even want to shower in the water, let alone drink it.
"Well, they were saying it was safe to drink before, and I got my water tested and my lead level was 3.9," Hensley said. "People were saying that wasn't high, but I'm still not going to drink it.”
= The water in Flint is run through thousands of pipes; of approximately 13,000 properties within the city, just over 8,000 locations and service lines may be lead-coated. Close to one year later only 33 lead-coated pipes have been replaced. That’s regarding the service lines. And that’s not a typo. In terms of the pipe replacement for Flint homes, the plan was set to begin after replacing the city’s service lines.
The second phase was set to kick off mid-August with a goal of replacing 250 pipes with a $2 million reimbursement the city got from the state when it reconnected to the Detroit water system.
Those were expected to be replaced in 60 to 90 days, and a third phase was expected to begin sometime after that.
In the third phase, around 5,000 lead pipes would be replaced using $25 million from the state.
In total, that's less than 6,000 homes with pipes replaced in a city of about 38,000 houses.
= Lead poisoning is a major concern because of its effects on the still-developing bodies of children. Experts agree there is no safe level of lead contamination for children (unless they work as Flint officials). Adult residents of Flint reported health concerns almost immediately: hair loss, skin rashes, and respiratory/circulatory illness possibly related to the water. What does the future look like?
"That's definitely what consumes me now -- What is going to happen to our kids? What is already happening to our kids? The water crisis was not just a lead crisis. The water brought many problems," Hanna-Attisha said. "It has had many consequences, so we are concerned most about how it is going to affect cognition and behavior. It could cause school issues, diminished IQ. Lead exposure has also been linked to criminality."
The problem is, there is no way to tell exactly what was caused by exposure to the poisoned water.
"At this point, everybody attributes everything to water, and rightly so," Hanna-Attisha said. "A kid has problems at school, a grandmother has early Dimensia, someone gets cancer -- everybody is attributing everything to the water. And like with all environmental health problems, its almost impossible to prove causality.”
= How much is this going to cost and who will pay for it? FEMA had been paying for bottled water, water filters and water filter replacement cartridges. The state has said it will now provide these necessities, as well as earmarking monies for replacing lead pipes. A Flint Aid Fund has been created, but the cost to replace all of Flint’s lead coated pipes is not there.
But, it's not enough.
There's still not enough money to replace all the lead pipes in Flint's infrastructure.
And, many of the initiatives that were started as a result of the crisis are services that will be needed for decades, says Hanna-Attisha.
"A lot of these things are funded in a one-year or two-year budget cycle. We need these things for decades. This is not like any other disaster where you just clean up and move on," Hanna-Attisha said. "We may have to deal with this for decades, and we need a long-term commitment."
The future also holds criminal charges for several state officials who had responsibility for monitoring the water situation. Gov. Snyder is not however amongst them.
One year later, that too, should be considered unfinished Flint business.