An
once-quiet crisis in Flint is now drawing voluminous concern from around the nation
as celebrities, politicians and presidential candidates steer attention to the
toxic tap water in one of Michigan's biggest and most beleaguered cities.
It's
hard to put anything about the issue in a nutshell, but a solid summary is as
follows:
In
charge of the city's budget amid a financial emergency, the state decided to
temporarily switch Flint's water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River as a
cost-saving measure until a new supply line to Lake Huron was ready. The river
had a reputation for nastiness, and after the April 2014 switch, residents
complained their water looked, smelled and tasted funny.
Virginia
Tech researchers found the water was highly corrosive. A class-action lawsuit
alleges the state Department of Environmental Quality didn't treat the water
for corrosion, in accordance with federal law, and because so many service
lines to Flint are made of lead, the noxious element leached into the water of
the city's homes.
The
city switched back to the Lake Huron water supply in October, but the damage
was already done to the lead pipes. The state is now handing out filters and
bottled water with the National Guard.
Here's
a look at five recent developments:
State
of emergency on three levels
Mayor
Karen Weaver, who took office two months ago, and Gov. Rick Snyder, who has
been at the state's helm since 2011, have both declared states of emergency,
with Snyder calling in the National Guard to help deliver clean water to the
city's nearly 100,000 residents.
Responding
to Weaver's and Snyder's cry for federal assistance, which Snyder said would
help with temporary housing and home repairs, President Barack Obama also
issued a state of emergency Saturday.
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security
will lead Washington's response.
State
Attorney General Bill Schuette is also taking action and said he will
investigate how the crisis unfolded in an effort to determine if any laws
were broken.
"The
situation in Flint is a human tragedy in which families are struggling with
even the most basic parts of daily life," he said in a statement.
Issue
enters Democratic debate
Flint's
water garnered some attention when leading Democratic presidential hopefuls
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both made a point of mentioning it during
Sunday's debate.
Sanders
called out Snyder, a Republican, demanding his resignation and asserting that
"a man who acts that irresponsibly should not stay in power."
Clinton
said she sent a top campaign aid to meet with the mayor of Flint and said she
had gone on a TV show to call for action.
"I
think every single American should be outraged," Clinton said. "We've
had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor
in many ways and majority African-American, has been drinking and bathing in
lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he
didn't really care."
Snyder
responded on Twitter that "political statements and finger pointing"
were a distraction to those working to solve the crisis.
Numbers
back up Clinton's characterization of Flint, where 57% of residents
are black and more than 41% of residents live beneath the poverty line (as
compared to the state and national rates of 17% and 15%, respectively).
Celebrities
stepping in
Joining
the political heavies are familiar names out of Hollywood, some of the city's
favorite sons and daughters, namely filmmaker Michael Moore, actress Sandra
Bernhard and singer-actress Cher.
Cher
and bottler Icelandic Glacial are joining forces to donate 181,440 bottles
of water, slated for delivery to a local food bank Wednesday. Bernhard has been
active on the talk-show circuit and social media, instructing her fans and
followers on the best ways to get clean water to her hometown.
Perhaps
it's unsurprising that Moore -- his film "Roger and Me" focused on
the closing of a General Motors plant in Flint and he's also known for
"Bowling for Columbine" -- had the most radical celebrity
response: He started a petition calling for Snyder's arrest, saying Michigan
"effectively poisoned, not just some, but apparently ALL of the children
in my hometown."
A
Snyder spokesman called the petition inflammatory at a time when Snyder's
"administration is working very closely with our partners in Flint and
Genesee County to address health and safety issues."
Mayor
worries about the long term
State
officials initially told residents everything was OK -- then-Mayor Dayne
Walling even made a point to drink the water on local TV -- until Virginia Tech
researchers in August performed tests and found the elevated lead levels. The
scope of the problem came into even better focus when local pediatrician Mona
Hanna-Attisha announced that records showed lead levels in toddlers had
doubled, and in some cases tripled, since the switch from Lake Huron.
Lead
poisoning is dangerous for anyone -- the related woes include skin lesions,
hair loss, vision loss, memory loss, depression and anxiety, according to a
class-action lawsuit -- but Weaver seems equally worried about the future.
Research shows lead exposure can affect a developing child's IQ, resulting in
learning disabilities. Weaver worries that Flint will need an influx of funding
in the future to deal with mental health issues and "an increase in the
juvenile justice system."
There
could be greater demand for adoptive and foster parents "as a result of
social services needed due to the detrimental effects of the high blood lead
levels," she has said.
Blame
game
As
Snyder pointed out, there is a lot of finger pointing surrounding the crisis,
and he realizes a lot of those fingers are aimed in his direction. He
apologized for the debacle earlier this month.
Everyone
CNN interviewed for a recent story -- including residents, city
workers, Walling, Weaver and Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee -- said they hold
Snyder and the state Department of Environmental Quality responsible.
A
2011 study found that before water from the Flint River could be considered
potable, it would need to be treated with an anti-corrosion agent, a measure
that would have cost the state about $100 a day.
Experts
say that water treatment would have prevented 90% of the problems with Flint's
water.
Attorneys
will meet Tuesday to discuss two new class-action lawsuits filed by Flint
residents that target the governor, the state Department of Environmental
Quality and the former Flint emergency managers who took control of the city's
purse strings after the financial emergency, among others, said Eric Hood, who
is coordinating media for the plaintiffs.
The
suits will detail government officials' culpability and will provide a more
detailed timeline than the previously filed federal lawsuit, Hood said.
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