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The Flint Water Crisis
Lagretta Hinton (C) gets her blood tested for lead poison levels by Lashae Campbell as she holds her grandson Shawn Bozier at a clinic set up to help screen for the effects of the crisis when the city’s drinking water became contaminated with dangerously high levels of lead in Flint, Michigan, March 6, 2016.Jim Young/Reuters/Alamy
Flint, Michigan, is in the middle of a public health crisis that is predicted to last for decades. The city, a majority Black town with 40% of its population living in poverty, is at the center of what most consider to be, at the very least, an example of inept government and, at the most, an example of government crime. But for this chapter, we focus on the actual public health crisis: heavy levels of lead in the water. How did it come about?
Between June 2012 and April 2013, Flint officials explored saving money by switching water providers from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD) to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA). It was projected that the city would save $200 million over 25 years. In order to make this switch, Flint needed to build a pipeline to connect to the KWA. The DWSD was informed that Flint had decided to join the KWA, and DWSD decided to terminate service to Flint as of April 2014.
The pipeline was not operational by April 2014, however, so the city had to find an alternative source of water, and it decided to use the Flint River as its water source until the pipeline was operational. Flint River was the water source for the city in the 1960s. On April 25, 2014, Flint River water became the water source for the city. City officials decided not to treat the water to ensure that it would not corrode the pipes, instead waiting to see whether problems presented themselves. In May 2014, the issues with this decision started to materialize (Figure 4.2).
DescriptionFigure 4.2 Timeline of the Flint Water CrisisSources: Carmody, S. (2019). 5 Years after Flint’s crisis began, is the water safe? April 25, 2019. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/25/717104335/5-years-after-flints-crisis-began-is-the-water-safeFlint Water Crisis Fast Facts. June 14, 2019. NPR. https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/index.html“The world thinks the water crisis is over. It’s not”: Flint remembers 8 years since the crisis. The Flint Journal. https://www.mlive.com/flintwater/2022/04/the-world-thinks-the-water-crisis-is-over-its-not-flint-remembers-8-years-since-crisis-began.html
In June 2016, the continuing problem was that the pipes carrying water to Flint were damaged. The state claims they could be fixed by running treated water through them, but the residents were not using their water (1) because it was poisoned and (2) because they would be charged for water they could not use. This means the water is not flowing through the pipes. The pipes will need to be fixed before the residents of Flint can use the water again. The question is when and how they will be fixed, and residents are still relying on bottled water.
As of April 2022, two water supply systems (a primary and backup system) have been finished, but many residents are still fearful and rely on bottled water for most of their requirements, which adds significantly to their budgets for water. In addition, the criminal and civil cases that have arisen from this crisis are still slowly going through the courts. “There will be no justice for the twelve we lost nor the children who ingested lead during their most vulnerable, formative years,” “but accountability under the law is still within reach and I will continue to say that, whoever had a hand in this crisis—no matter how powerful—must still answer for their actions or inaction” (Goetz, 2022).
For a book on juvenile delinquency in a diverse society, there are two issues of importance in this story: The first is the number of children who were exposed to critically high levels of lead in their water, and the second is the disproportionate number of poor children of color who were affected. We have already read that toxins such as lead are strongly correlated to behavioral problems in children, and we will also learn later in the book that children of color are more likely to be held accountable for their behavior by being arrested and formally charged in the juvenile justice system.
For your discussion: What does the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, mean for the children of Flint, then? If there are increased rates of delinquency in Flint through the 2020s, should these children be held accountable for their behavior, or should it be understood that the water crisis is the real offender? Why or why not?
You have the whole paragraph of the flint water crisis that from the book that my teacher uses you just have to answer the for your discussion questions
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