image of flint Michigan's water tower

You read that correctly Flint Michigan still has dirty water in 2024. The beginning of the crisis was in 2014. If this town was full of white people would these people have clean water? Many residents and officials think so.

The people in Flint Michigan are still in a water crisis. Now children with learning disabilities are popping up by the hundreds.

Mismanagement following a switch in the city’s water supply in 2014 caused lead in old pipes to enter the drinking water. Despite complaints by residents of discolored water, Michigan and Flint officials insisted there was no threat to public health. When Dr. Hanna-Attisha heard that independent testing detected lead in the water, she searched for the truth by examining her patients’ medical records. In 2015, she found the percentage of kids with elevated blood lead levels had increased since the water switch. Two weeks later, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder ordered Flint to switch back to the Great Lakes water source. 

image of 3 of flint's water pipes showing corrosion

“There is no safe level of lead… It is an irreversible neurotoxin. It attacks the core of what it means to be you and impacts cognition– how children think,” Hanna-Attisha says. “[Lead] drops IQ levels. It impacts behavior, leading to things like developmental delays.” She estimated that 14,000 Flint children under the age of six were exposed.  A study on children’s baby teeth is being conducted to determine that impact because the teeth begin to grow in the womb. The technology allows researchers to identify exactly which children were exposed to the lead-contaminated water, when, and at what level.

infograph showing leads effect on the human body

This incident is just one of the many causing people to lose trust in the government in America.

While playing a game I saw that another player was from Flint after asking if they had clean water she said “no” and claimed to have acquired autoimmune diseases from it.

image showing game comment section where player states that they have acquired autoimmune system disease

In the video below Councilman Eric Mays states he made a report saying if the water was switched from pre-treated water from Lake Huron to the Flint River it would need to be of course treated and that was not done. State Attorney General Bill Schuette also has an open investigation of criminal wrongdoing related to the water crisis. Todd Flood, a special prosecutor for Schuette, has so far filed criminal charges against 13 current and former city and state officials, accusing them of criminal wrongdoing for their role in the water crisis. There are so many civil rights being violated here.

There is a settlement in the amount of $626,000,000 for Flint residents but has not been distributed yet. Hopefully, there will be criminal charges against decision-makers in Flint Michigan.