The Flint Water Crisis | 12

The Flint Michigan water crisis garnered international attention in 2015 after it was discovered that residents were being poisoned by the water running through their taps.

A year earlier in 2014, the city switched its water source from the Detroit water system to the Flint River as a cost-saving solution while awaiting the building of a pipeline from Lake Huron which hadn’t been completed yet.

Many people living in the city questioned the decision before the switch which officially happened on April 25, 2014, and Lewis said she remembers noticing an immediate difference in the water.

Residents began reporting various illnesses and several people had died from a Legionnaires outbreak.

It was later revealed that the city didn’t treat the water with anti-corrosion agents that might have prevented aged pipes from leaching lead into the water system.

On this episode of Global News’ What happened to…? Erica Vella revisits the water crisis to find out how it all began and what has happened since. She also speaks with the community members who pushed for change and finds out where they are now.

Contact:

Twitter: @ericavella

Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca

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