The water coming from the faucets of homes in Flint, Mich., is brown and tainted with lead, but the federal government isn’t coming to the rescue.
The problems stem from the city’s April 2014 decision to start drawing water itself from the Flint River instead of relying of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, a move expected to save the city of about 100,000 people about $1 million a month.
But, while the savings from that decision might be in the millions, the costs are already being noticed.
While Flint waits for work on a pipeline from Lake Huron to be completed next summer, it is drawing its water from the Flint River. And the water from that river is so acidic it is eating away at the lead pipes that carry water to the city’s residents and putting that lead into their drinking water.
Despite calls from residents and activists for help, the Environmental Protection Agency does not plan to step in, saying that Michigan’s decision to give water filters to residents and do free testing of water samples is enough to keep the agency from taking a bigger role. The state announced its 10-point plan to respond to the crisis late last week.
“Actions that the state of Michigan and the city of Flint announced last week are important steps to protect public health,” said Susan Hedman, the EPA’s administrator for the region. “The immediate steps being taken to implement corrosion control will reduce lead in drinking water, as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. U.S. EPA will continue to provide technical assistance to the state of Michigan and the city of Flint to support their joint effort.”
The water in the Flint River has eight times more chloride than the water in Lake Huron, according to a study by Virginia Tech researcher Mark Edwards. All that chloride is wearing away the lead pipes that carry the water from the city’s water system to homes throughout the city.
Edwards reported that 40 percent of the homes tested earlier this year had lead levels about 5 parts per billion. Ten percent were above 25 parts per billion, and some reported much higher levels. The EPA considers 15 parts per billion “high risk” but says there is no safe amount of lead in water.
Since Flint began drawing its own water from the Flint River in April 2014, there have been noticeable traces of lead in the blood of children under the age of 5.
A study by the Hurley Medical Center found the amount of children with too much lead in their systems rose from 2 percent to 4.1 percent after the change in water supply. The share of children who live in the most affected parts of the city with elevated lead levels in their blood increased from 2.5 percent to 6.3 percent. The number of children in Flint under the age of 15 months who tested positive for higher lead levels increased two-and-a-half times after the switch.
High amounts of lead in blood could lead to drops in IQ, increased risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other negative health effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Initially, city and state officials denied the studies or tried to downplay their significance.
Flint spokesman Jason Lorenz said he didn’t have an estimate for how many residents asked for water filters Tuesday, the first day they were available. Bottles of water are also being donated from businesses and nonprofits around the state.
“It’s good for people to see that there’s so much attention being given at the local and state level, and rightly so,” he said. “This issue has garnered a lot of attention, and that kind of attention usually brings a lot of resources.”
Among those resources are free water filters for any resident who wants one, which may cost as much as $1 million, said David Murray, spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder. The state is also doing free testing for lead.
In a region where few people trust state leaders, Murray acknowledges it may be hard to get residents to get on board with the state’s plans.
“People are worried and they’re frustrated, and it’s scary when you hear some of the things people are talking about,” he said.
Many wonder why the city doesn’t stop drawing water from the Flint River and take emergency action to return to drawing water from Lake Huron through the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
One problem is the state already sold part of Flint’s pipeline connecting the water supply to the agency. Murray said there would likely be another round of questions about the quality of the new water coming in.
“It is an option under consideration and we’re working closely with people in the city government and the federal government to see if this is possible,” Murray said.
Lorenz said another option being considered is adding an anti-corrosive agent to the water supply. He said the chemical would reduce the amount of chlorine in the water.
Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality has agreed to expedite Flint’s application to use the chemical, but it still might take up to 48 days. Either action likely would cost Flint money and add to the cash-strapped city’s deficit, which is prohibited by the state because the city is in receivership.
“It’s just not as simple as someone would be led to believe,” he said.
