While it is not making headlines anymore, Flint is still in a state of crisis. The initial change of the of the water system is what introduced lead into the water of citizens, but the problem starts before that. Back in 2011, Flint was in a declared state of a financial emergency, so the state took control of the budget for the city. It was the state that decided to change the city’s water source from Lake Huron, which they had to pay Detroit for, to the Flint River, which was notoriously filthy. Turns out, the state and Department of Environmental Quality were breaking federal law by not treating the Flint River with anti-corrosive agents to treat the water. Why was the water so filthy? Flint can thank General Motors, who polluted the River but was given amnesty by the Obama administration to not get sued for any damage caused by their pollution. So, let’s wrap that up. The water was polluted by General Motors and the DEQ left it untreated for years, and to save money, the state decided to change the water source to the Flint River. Since the water was not treated, there were high levels of iron in the water, which was why the water was a dirty brown color. The iron water corroded the pipes of the city, which were made of lead, thus causing the lead poisonings in the city. This could have been avoided if the DEQ treated the water initially, which would have costed around $100 a day. Let that sink in for a minute.

Now, everyone is looking for someone to blame because this is clearly a man-made issue. The obvious culprit is the DEQ and their negligence, but they are not the only ones to blame. Governor Rick Snyder and his office should be seen as accomplices, since it was under his authority that the Flint River was chosen to be the temporary water source to save money. Now, no one anticipated the lead poisonings, but they were aware that the Flint River was polluted and still decided that the citizens will have to pay for dirty water. How can we not include General Motors in this catastrophe? They are the ones who initially polluted the river and did absolutely nothing to fix it. Even GM stopped using the water from the river since it was rusting up the cars. Basic science shows that rust is caused by iron. And how can we forget the federal government, since they are the ones who allowed GM to get away with the pollution and assume no responsibility. The DEQ claims that the laws for water treatment are very vague, so there is general confusion on the course of action to take, but I really feel that was an attempt to thwart off some of the blame and responsibility.

Now, the state made strong efforts to hide their mistake, clearly indicating that they were not thinking too much about the safety of the citizens of Flint. Despite the research of Virginia Tech, who tested the waters, and efforts from local doctors, who tested the blood of children, the state disregarded the data, claiming it was false and of less superior quality than that of the state. They told the citizens, for a long 18 months, that the water was safe, when it was clearly not.

Even though most of the problem was in control of the state, the city had a duty to protect its people, but failed abysmally. The former mayor drank the water on national television to show that the water was safe. Why? It doesn’t make any sense for them to push off the problem, since the longer it went on, the more it would cost to fix it. The Governor estimated that the cost would be over $760 million to replace the water pipes alone. Where is the state going to get the money? How much is it going to cost to reimburse citizens the money they had to pay for the dirty water, in addition to medical care they require for the lead poisoning? Lead poisoning is irreversible, and the government allowed the citizens to suffer for far longer than they needed to.

So far, the Obama administration has offered to aid the city, offering a total of $80 million to help replace the water system and another $200 million to help with health cost; currently, $28 million has already been sent. While this is a generous offer, Congress still has to approve all of the money, and there are already certain members who are making efforts to not send the money. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah does not want to send the money because he feels like the state, at this point, has enough resources. Flint has received a lot of private donations, and Sen. Lee claims that Michigan has had a surplus in their budget this year.

If that is the case, why is the Detroit public school system failing horrendously?

Why is Congress so reluctant to send money to fix a water system when Washington DC is having its own water system being fixed? Guess how many objections there are to that?

The thing is, this could have happened anywhere. Many homes were made with lead, and many officials take shortcuts to avoid costs. Flint was unlucky, but I would not be surprised if government negligence finally caught up somewhere else and another disaster strikes.