Annette Williams is careful to hold her granddaughter Sharell’s head at bath time, to keep the two-year-old from taking a gulp of toxic water. Though most people no longer drink what flows through Flint’s corroded pipes, many families have little choice but to bathe in it.
Sharell has been sick for months – ear infections, skin rashes and coughs. Williams cooks all her meals using bottled water, and has taught the eldest of her three grandchildren, six-year-old Promise, to wash her sister’s face with a flannel. But total isolation is near impossible. Sharell has developed a habit of sucking on her wet towel when no one is looking.
Williams, 48, is terrified of what might happen because the family bathes in the water. Inadequately treated water has coursed into Flint homes at least since April 2014, bringing toxins and poisonous lead that leached off the city’s ageing pipes. There are no safe levels of lead exposure: even low levels can cause lifelong developmental damage to young children.
“I know it’s wrong to do it. We shouldn’t be bathing in it, but what else can we do?” Williams said.
On Monday, all three children will head to hospital for blood tests for toxins . All of Flint’s 8,657 children under the age of six should be considered exposed, according to a recent citywide public health directive.
Since the city’s emergency managers decided to draw Flint’s water from the highly corrosive local river, this small city of 100,000 people – just 70 miles from Michigan’s great lakes, the world’s largest freshwater source – has suffered alone, let down by local, state and federal officials and almost entirely ignored by the rest of America.
Williams can see the river from her living room, in the city’s impoverished north-east. She used to fish for dinner on its banks, but now she can’t bear to look at it.
“It’s all just poison now,” she said.
Life has changed immeasurably in the last two years. Residents live in a state of indignity, fear and paranoia. Some refuse to shower, others eat only from paper plates, and many suffer rashes and hair loss. Adding insult to injury, the city’s water bills are among the highest in the US.
Like 41% of Flint residents, Williams has endured this crisis in poverty; like 56% of residents, she is black. She has no income and hitches rides three days a week to spend precious food stamps on the 70 litres of bottled water that her family needs. Although things have got a little easier since national guard troops rolled into town two weeks ago, supply drops have yet to reach her home. Williams scratched her arms. She “ashes” everyday after showering. She wondered whom to blame.
“I feel the governor let us down,” she said. “We never really knew what was going on.”
Rick Snyder, a Republican who ascended to the governor’s office in 2010 without ever serving in public office, has fought off calls for his resignation and criticism about his delayed response to the crisis. It was Snyder’s administration that placed the city under emergency management in 2011, a decision that wrested control from the city council and imposed cost-cutting – which in turn led the city to the filthy river for water. For 18 months the administration ignored signs that water was contaminated, before finally rerouting supplies last October.
Melissa Mays first noticed something was wrong when yellow water spurted through her taps, two months after the switch. It stank. It made her hair fall out. But still, she, her husband and their three boys drank from the taps when the city assured them nothing was wrong.
In the winter of 2014, her son Christian, then 11 years old, fell from his bike and shattered his wrists, which had become brittle. Mays felt her bones ache too – a sure sign of lead poisoning. She noticed the city had quietly advised residents to boil the water before consuming it, and that a General Motors plant had redirected its water after engine parts started rusting.
All her family later tested positive for heavy metal poisoning. Perversely, Mays feels some of the guilt herself.
“It comes when Christian wakes up every night and he’s crying, and there’s nothing I can do. I know that somebody else did this, but it was my job to protect him. I didn’t,” she said. “We’re just seeing the early signs of it. It takes up to five years to see the full effects of lead poisoning.”
Her days are dictated by the amount of bottled water she keeps in the house. She washes all the food with it, boils her kettle with it. She instructs her boys to shower sitting down, by pouring warm cups of water quickly over their bodies. The sight of steam from the bathroom makes her jump – she worries it could carry the poison into her body through pores.
•••
Mays was at the state capitol on Tuesday, when a humbled Snyder apologised to residents. He blamed state environment officials, later suspending two employees.
She was far from convinced. “If he was sorry, he’d have come and talked to the citizens,” Mays said. “And we’d have shovels in the ground digging those pipes up.”
A cache of files obtained by the Guardian through a public records request shows several red flags that should have tipped off officials about the water catastrophe.
In February 2015, just weeks after the University of Michigan-Flint reported elevated lead levels on campus, Flint resident Lee-Anne Walters brought the high lead levels in her household’s water to officials’ attention. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Michigan’s department of environmental quality (MDEQ) discussed Walters’ lead results in an email later that month.
With the subject line “HIGH LEAD: FLINT Water testing Results”, the EPA’s Jennifer Crooks wrote to local officials that she had been discussing Walters’ “water situation” for several weeks. Crooks was stunned by the results: 104 parts per billion of lead. The EPA’s regulatory limit is 15 parts per billion.
“WOW!!! Did he find the LEAD!” Crooks wrote, adding: “She has 2 children under the age of 3 … Big worries here.”
But state environmental officials felt it was an isolated case. They assuaged the fears of an EPA expert, Miguel Del Toral, by saying the city used corrosion controls to prevent the river from leaching contaminants off the water pipes. Del Toral later confirmed that wasn’t the case in a 25 April email, writing that the “whole town may have much higher lead levels” than state officials believed.
The lack of corrosion control in Flint, he later wrote, was a “major concern from a public health standpoint”.
It would not be until October 2015, when schools reported lead contamination levels as high as 101 parts per billion, that government officials conceded the situation in Flint was a “public safety issue”.
•••
At a makeshift bottled water collection point, run by a county politician in the city’s north side, a line of cars stretched around the block on Friday. Like refugees from their city, volunteers stuffed cars full of crates. At the eight distribution points manned by the national guard, residents were required to bring identification and could, as of Saturday, collect only one crate per day. The Guardian witnessed several people turned away by troops.
Eric Davis, an unemployed labourer on the city’s north side, stopped drinking the tap water just two months ago. He continues to shower in it and has rashes on his eyelids. The 53-year-old sat in his living room clutching a Red Cross-delivered crate of water, and pointed to the dry skin and bloody scratches on his knees and arms.
“My skin ain’t never been like this,” he said. “My body feels contaminated. It feels like they trying to kill us out here.”
His flatmate, 58-year-old Jeffrey Moore, has refused to shower for two weeks. Instead, he boils water and wipes it over his body. “We’re alone out here,” he said.
A few blocks away, Randy Huyck, his wife and six children shared the feeling of isolation. Their two-storey house, with leaking pipes and rancid mould, was deemed uninhabitable by the city, and the family faces eviction. Abandoned or burned houses line their street, evidence of the city’s declining population and economic collapse.
Huyck continues to bathe and cook with the water.
“I can’t afford to buy water,” he said. “With six kids and no money coming in, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
Until a few weeks ago, with a Michigan primary looming in March, Flint’s water crisis was barely acknowledged on the US presidential campaign trail or in the national media. Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton called the delayed response by Michigan officials “unconscionable”, and Bernie Sanders has repeatedly called for Snyder to resign. On Sunday, Jeb Bush praised Synder “for stepping up right now”. His rivals in the chaotic Republican race have kept silent.
On Thursday, Barack Obama announced $80m in aid for the people of Flint. “Our children should not have to be worried about the water that they’re drinking in American cities,” he said. “That’s not something that we should accept.”
But residents here fear the money will never reach them, and are angered that Obama chose not to visit the city during a trip to Detroit this week.
•••
At the Masonic temple in downtown Flint on Saturday, hundreds of residents arrived to test their bodies for lead. The testing kits, paid for not by the government but by a local lawyer, ran out within an hour.
Ardis Porter, 26, and her five-year-old son, Grant, got here early enough to see a nurse. They stopped using tap water to brush their teeth only two weeks ago. Grant, whose hair started falling out in November, cried as the needle pierced his skin. Ardis worries her unborn child may also have been exposed.
“They should be testing everybody because they’ve exposed us all to this,” said Ardis Porter. “It wouldn’t be handled like this in other areas. People don’t care about the poor.”
The government in Michigan aren't treating these people like human beings. I saw this story on the news yesterday and heard that the people are protesting by not paying their water bills. Because of this the government has threatened to take away their children. The government needs to solve this problem immediately, the article states,"Hundreds of residents arrived to test their bodies for lead." I mean what brought the government the bright idea of taking water from a disgusting river and stopped getting water from another state.
ReplyDeleteI think it is crazy how the government would put the water from the Flint River into the resident's houses. They should have tested the water and pipes to see if the water would be sufficient for the people of Flint. I think it is a red flag that " yellow water spurted through" the tap in someone's house. Also, it is awful that the city told them "nothing was wrong" (Guardian). The fact that the city lied to them saying that it was fine is disgusting, more disgusting than the water. Hopefully Flint can figure out the water problem and get clean water to all of the houses.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of toxic water in the town of Flint is unacceptable. This toxic water is being fled through the everyday pipes for homes- sinks, showers, every form of water in the house is contaminated. This is American soil and our people are being harmed. One resident of Flint states that "She instructs her boys to shower sitting down, by pouring warm cups of water quickly over their bodies. The sight of steam from the bathroom makes her jump – she worries it could carry the poison into her body through pores." This is unacceptable. Luckily this has been brought to the attention of President Obama and he seeks to make change. He stated that $80m will be to the aid for the people of Flint. There needs to be change now before it becomes worse and continues to harm the citizens. Change for the people of Flint is a necessity. Gabi LaBeaux p.6 1/26/16
ReplyDeletethis is horrible many people use water bottle to make food and have rashes also refuse to shower."Life has changed immeasurably in the last two years. Residents live in a state of indignity, fear and paranoia. Some refuse to shower, others eat only from paper plates, and many suffer rashes and hair loss. Adding insult to injury, the city’s water bills are among the highest in the US."this shows how horrible it is getting and how much these people need help and water.
ReplyDeleteI cannot even believe this is happening on American soil. It's outrageous. "Melissa Mays first noticed something was wrong when yellow water spurted through her taps, two months after the switch. It stank. It made her hair fall out. But still, she, her husband and their three boys drank from the taps..." I find it completely insane that a woman would allow her family to continue using water that was yellow and stunk. This is the type of story you would expect to read involving a third world country, not about a city in Michigan. I think it is sadistic that the government is threatening to take away people's children since they (understandably) are refusing to pay water bills. Instead of taking responsibility for their deceit, the government is resorting to more aversion techniques and withholding information and aid. If this doesn't show you the true character of our elected officials, I don't know what does.
ReplyDeleteI chose to respond to this article because this personally affects my family. My Grandparents have a home in Flint Michigan. Lucky they have a second home in Florida (they are there during this), But it leaves me to wonder what if they were still in Flint. I couldn't imagine, like the article says "Though most people no longer drink what flows through Flint’s corroded pipes, many families have little choice but to bathe in it. (The Guardian)" What if they were still there. It is hard to imagine.
ReplyDeleteZach potter per5
This is truly saddening to see that this is how the government in Michigan is treating people. This is irresponsible. Why are they not testing the water they are flowing into peoples houses? They are being poisoned and still being charged for their water. Young children, along with adults have lead poisoning. And after being assured by the government that nothing was wrong one family (along with many others) drank from the tap. Then, “All her family later tested positive for heavy metal poisoning(The Guardian).” It is unacceptable to treat people like this and the government needs to be held accountable and they need to fix this.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Willis per. 5
I wasn't aware that this was happening in America. It's terrible how the government in Michigan are treating people. "Melissa Mays first noticed something was wrong when yellow water spurted through her taps" If the water in this bad the government should immediately fix the problem. The government is here to help us, not sit by and do nothing.
ReplyDeleteI think that this article is very sad to read in general just because where were are from we have it very good. We have plenty of water whenever we need it, we have good food around us all the time, and we have shelter and are not worrying about anything other then us really. well considering this family doesn't have water saddens me a lot and I think its very good that people are starting to realize and jumping in to make a effort.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very sad to read because of how the government of Michigan is treating their people. The water has poison in it, and they still charge the people for it. Why wouldn't they test the water before they drink it? That is very irresponsible and needs to change.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very sad. The things that are happening to Michigan are terrible. The water for the people is awful. Why would the government do this to the people by not filtering the peoples water and making it poisoned. This makes me feel bad because I get fresh water everyday when they barely get any, and when they get some it is poisoned.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly horrifying to read. The fact that this has been going on for so long and nobody has done anything or brought much attention to it absolutely sickens me. When something as vital as a water supply is contaminated for a whole city, something needs to be done. They should have acted on this a long time ago, and by acting on it, I mean digging up the pipes and fixing it, not just telling citizens that it's not that bad and to just boil the water. "A cache of files obtained by the Guardian through a public records request shows several red flags that should have tipped off officials about the water catastrophe." This is absolutely insane, and I believe we need to see punishment for this because these government officials and such have now harmed and endangered an entire town when they very well could have done something about it. This is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad to hear that things like this are happening in the United States. It is also increasingly irresponsible how the government did not test the water correctly. And now the water is poisoned it seems they are doing the minimum amount to help the people of flint. Lead poisoning has been the result of this and still no help has been offered.
ReplyDeletePeople have to "cook all there meals using bottled water"(The Guardian). It is sad that this is happening to a city in the United States. The water is basically poisoned and people can not take showers, use the sinks for washing their hands, or even cook meals. It is kind of sad how they are really close to the Great Lakes yet dont have clean water coming through their houses. Having to use water bottles for everything, all day 24/7 would suck. Young kids are being poisoned and sick through this water. It makes me feel very fortunate for what I have right now.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is sad how these people don't even have fresh water to bath in. "Sharell has been sick for months – ear infections, skin rashes and coughs." (Guardian) These people would get these horrible side effects just for taking a bath. It says how the government doesn't want to use water from different place but the corrosive river. "Since the city’s emergency managers decided to draw Flint’s water from the highly corrosive local river, this small city of 100,000 people – just 70 miles from Michigan’s great lakes, the world’s largest freshwater source – has suffered alone, let down by local, state and federal officials and almost entirely ignored by the rest of America." (guardian)
ReplyDelete~Kyle Haroldsen P.4
I think that this article is very sad and I feel bad for those people from Flint that have to go through this. It is a huge public safe issue and the government needs to do something about it and fast. Clean and safe water is a basic responsibility of the government so this problem with unclean water should never have happened.
ReplyDeleteI do feel very bad for the people who live in Flint and for all the people who have to go through this. Having clean water is so important and i feel that they need to fix this problem very fast because no one should have to be worried about showering because they don't know if they are going to get clean water or not. This poisoned water is poisoning these kids childhood. All they will think of the town Flint is the poisoned water. This problem should have never happened.
ReplyDeleteAdrianne Mahlman
Period 6