The Flint Water Crisis

Leanne Walters discovered that the city of Flint had not implemented a corrosion control plan. Most cities avoid corroding pipes by treating their water with corrosion-inhibiting chemicals such as orthophosphate. When these chemicals are not present, the corrosivity of the water begins eating away at that mineral crust and eventually at the lead beneath it. In an email to a Detroit newspaper, Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said it was a simple mistake.