Flint Water Crisis

Beginnings

Lead found in the drinking water of Flint, Michigan (where there is a high poverty rate and a majority Black population)

• 2012, officials began looking to save money on their water supplier

• By 2014, officials cut off their original supplier but haven’t connected to a new one

• April 2014: Decide to “temporarily” switch to the Flint River (main sources in 1960s but had not been tested since)

After the temporary switch to the Flint River

• People immediately notice the smell and appearance

• Multiple water boil advisories for bacteria. The resident treats this with chlorine (which, over time, corrodes it)

After the inclusion of chlorine in the water system

• January 2015: Byproducts of the chlorine interaciting with the organic water in Flint river VIOLATE the Safe Water Drinking Act

• February: City detects high lead levels in the water. Children testing postive for lead poisoning. City tries to keep it on the low

• August: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality ( MDEQ) claims lead levels are safe based on a sample of Flint water that had been filtered.

After the MDEQ testing

September 2015 : Tests run by Virginia Tech show dangerous lead levels (City and MDEA deny claims)

• Local medical center study finds hifh levels of lead in children, but is connectioned to “seasonal changes” rather than water source

• City issues a lead advisory, which is quite bureaucratic

After city issues lead advisory

October 2015: City switches back to the previous water supply (Lake Huron), but the pipes are already damaged

December: New mayor of Flint declares a state of emergency

After the city switches back to previous water supply

• The news of flint’s water blows up in the media throughout 2016

• Lawsuits and criminal charges were filed against mutliple officals

• New covered-up info comes to light - such as bacterial Legionnaires out break that began in 2014

Present day News

• The process of replacing the most of the main pipes in Flint was recently declared “complete” in July 2025, but many homes are still given corroded lines so the process is ongoing

• Most up-to-date information tends to come from activitst still working tirelessly on the crisis,