Flint Water Crisis

Jordan Walton
ENVS 2202
Introduction
● Back in 2014, the Flint water crisis was one of the biggest stories to come out that year and continued to cause

the state of Michigan many setbacks when it comes to providing fresh drinking water for consumers.

● This has caused the conversation of water pollution throughout the community and if the government is

behind the corruption of resources humans need for survival.

● Cons such as the increase death toll of citizens in Flint Michigan due to the contaminated water ie. diseases

and other health problems that can emerge from it.

Explanation
● “Flint’s population has since plummeted to just 100,000 people, a majority of whom
are African-American, and about 45 percent of its residents live below the poverty
line.”- According to Melissa Denchak of the NRDC.
● “Contaminated water can transmit diseases such diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery,

typhoid, and polio.” (Denchak)

● “Contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause 485,000 diarrhoeal deaths each

year.” (Denchak)
The Economist. “The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has had terrible consequences for residents’ health.” The Economist, The Economist, 27

September 2017,

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/09/27/the-water-crisis-in-flint-michigan-has-had-terrible-consequences-for-residents-health.

Accessed 10 November 2020.

Opposing view
● "Environmental racism"- A term is used to describe environmental injustice that occurs within a racialized

context both in practice and policy.

● “If Flint were rich and mostly white, would Michigan’s state government have responded more quickly and

aggressively to complaints about its lead-polluted water?” (Eligon) According to John Eligon of the New York

Times.

● Most of this issue is happening in communities that the majority residents are people of color.

● Many people also say race is not an issue.

Covert, Bryce. “Race Best Predicts Whether You Live Near Pollution.” The Nation, The Nation, 18 February 2016,

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/race-best-predicts-whether-you-live-near-pollution/. Accessed 10 November 2020.

Possible Solutions
● Instead of leaving the city hanging, the state of Michigan should invest its budget in rebuilding Flint Michigan

for it to become a safer and more healthy area for families.

● Replace the pipes- an estimate of $400 million will be able to fix the city of Flint’s pipe system.

● Filter systems such as Brita installed to filter out lead and other minerals in water.

● SEE GRAPHS ON NEXT 2 SLIDES !!!!!!!!!

State of Michigan. “State of Michigan Commitment to City of Flint.” Taking Action on Flint Water, State of Michigan,

https://www.michigan.gov/flintwater/. Accessed 10 November 2020.

Grainger. “How Much Does it Cost to Clean up Your Water Supply?” Grainger Know How, Grainger Know How,

https://www.grainger.com/know-how/business-operations/water-resource-management/kh-how-much-does-it-cost-to-clean-water-infographic

. Accessed 10 November 2020.

Conclusion
● As COVID-19 has been the main problem this year, we can’t leave other communities behind who are trying

to rebuild.

● Flint Michigan has been battling this problem of toxic water for the past 6 years and there is no attention being

brought up about it anymore.

● In order to be united, we have to support every community, not just the most populous like New York and Los

Angeles, and give every community attention to survive in the crazy world we live in today.
Questions
1. Do you believe the flint water crisis has anything to do with race, and if Flint was a
rich white community, would it receive the proper funding and care for the
community?
2. How long do you think Flint will be able to bounce back from this situation and
return back to normal with consuming clean water?
3. Do you use filter systems to filter out the lead in your water?
4. How is water distributed in your community?
References
Denchak, Melissa. “Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know.” NRDC, Melissa Denchak, 08 November 2018,

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know. Accessed 21 October 2020.

Martinez, Michael. “Flint, Michigan: Did race and poverty factor into water crisis?” CNN, CNN, 28 January 2016,

https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/us/flint-michigan-water-crisis-race-poverty/index.html. Accessed 21 October 2020.

Ruckart, Perri Zeitz, et al. “The Flint Water Crisis: A Coordinated Public Health Emergency Response and Recovery Initiative.” NCBI,

PMC, 1 1 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6309965/. Accessed 20 10 2020.

World Health Organization. “Drinking-water.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 14 June 2019,

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water. Accessed 21 October 2020.

References pt.2
Covert, Bryce. “Race Best Predicts Whether You Live Near Pollution.” The Nation, The Nation, 18 February 2016,

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/race-best-predicts-whether-you-live-near-pollution/. Accessed 10 November 2020.

The Economist. “The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has had terrible consequences for residents’ health.” The Economist, The Economist, 27

September 2017,

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/09/27/the-water-crisis-in-flint-michigan-has-had-terrible-consequences-for-residents-health.

Accessed 10 November 2020.

State of Michigan. “State of Michigan Commitment to City of Flint.” Taking Action on Flint Water, State of Michigan,

https://www.michigan.gov/flintwater/. Accessed 10 November 2020.

Grainger. “How Much Does it Cost to Clean up Your Water Supply?” Grainger Know How, Grainger Know How,

https://www.grainger.com/know-how/business-operations/water-resource-management/kh-how-much-does-it-cost-to-clean-water-infographic

. Accessed 10 November 2020.

References pt.3
Eligon, John. “A Question of Environmental Racism in Flint.” The New York Times, The New York Times,

21 January 2016,

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/us/a-question-of-environmental-racism-in-flint.html. Accessed

10 November 2020.