Prior to the water crisis, Flint’s main water supply came from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department. They purchased treated water taken from Lake Huron from the DWSD in order to supply the town with its needs. At this point …show more content…
Due to this, another water facility known as the Flint Water Service Center was used to as a backup to maintain the Flint River, treating its waters two to four times a year. In 2013, Flint city officials had the option to continue purchasing treated water from DWSD or treat Flint River water at its own facility.
In 2014, the struggling town of Flint had their water crisis when the state decided to switch their water supply system from Lake Huron to the Flint river due to a financial emergency. Within a couple of weeks after the switch, Flint residents started noticing a difference in color, taste together with the smell coming from their water. In order to make the water completely safe to drink, it would have to be treated with an anti-corrosion agent, costing the state of Michigan $100 per day. Instead of adding the anti-corrosion agent, the City’s mayor along with other city officials drank the water on public television to ensure it was safe to drink. A number of complaints of rashes mainly in children coming from the water began to emerge in May 2014. For a period of time, the town along with state officials …show more content…
Due to its extensive uses, it has a high level of contamination. The toxicity of lead poisoning dates back to second-century b.c. It attacks multiple body systems and is most harmful to children along with pregnant women. People can be exposed to lead through inhaling burning materials containing lead or ingesting lead-contaminated dust, food, or water. Children have a higher chance of getting lead poisoning because they absorb four to five times more ingested lead compared to adults. Children are also more vulnerable when it comes to what they eat for they do not know what is actually food versus what is not. Since children do not watch what they touch, it is very easy for them to ingest lead-contaminated soil, dust or even inhale lead-containing