Flint Water Crisis

 
Flint, Michigan is facing an epic water crisis caused by the leaching of lead into its water supply.  The lead comes from water pipes installed before the health issues associated with lead were known.  Lead was a common plumbing material until the Ontario plumbing code was updated to prohibit its use in the mid-1950s.  The crisis occurred when the City of Flint temporarily changed its water source in April 2014 from Lake Huron to the Flint River.  River water is significantly more corrosive than lake water and caused the lead water pipes to corrode.  It is estimated 50% of the water pipes in Flint contain lead and the only solution is to replace these pipes.  The estimated cost is $1.5 billion but the human cost could be much higher.
  
The Rotary Club of Flint in partnership with the Rotary Club of Genesee County (District 6330/Area 7) is encouraging fellow Rotary Clubs and Rotarians to consider supporting efforts in the following four ways:
 

1. Club level donations can be made to the Rotary Club of Flint Charitable Foundation. These funds will be utilized to support water related efforts in the Flint area.

2. Individual Rotarians are encourage to donate to The Flint Child Health & Development Fund which was established at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint to support the delivery of critical public health, medical, and community-based services and interventions that address and mitigate the short and long term impacts experienced by Flint, Michigan families exposed to lead as the result of the 2014-2016 Flint Water Crisis.

3. Individuals wishing to donate water can do so through one of the established distribution sites. The site for donations is dependent on the size of the donation.

4. People wishing to volunteer can report directly to the Red Cross (1401 S Grand Traverse St, Flint, MI 48503) anytime between 9:00am-7:00pm. Please do not call ahead, just come. Please be prepared to volunteer in winter conditions. (Although not all positions are outside we need all volunteers to be prepared

Please see the appeal letter from Amy Krug, President of the Rotary club of Flint, found on the homepage file download section entitled: "Rotary Club of Flint Appeal - January 16, 2016"

Background to the Crisis 

The Flint water crisis is an ongoing drinking water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, in the United States.

In 2014, the City of Flint switched its water supply from the City of Detroit (which had supplied it for nearly half a century) to the Flint River. The move was an effort to save costs. It was viewed as a temporary fix prior to an ultimate switch to a permanent Flint water supply, which would be provided after the Karegnondi Water Authority's construction of a pipeline from Lake Huron, thereby eliminating Flint's long-time dependence on Detroit city water.[3]

After the change in water source, the city's drinking water had a series of issues that culminated with lead contamination, creating a serious public health danger. The corrosive Flint River water caused lead from aging pipes to leach into the water supply, causing extremely elevated levels of lead. As a result, between 6,000 and 12,000 residents had severely high levels of lead in the blood and experienced a range of serious health problems.[2] The water may also be a possible cause of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the county that has killed 10 people and affected another 77.[1]

On November 13, 2015, four families filed a federal class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit against Governor Rick Snyder and thirteen other city and state officials, and three separate people filed a similar suit in state court two months later. Separately, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Michigan Attorney General's office opened investigations. On January 5, 2016, the city was declared to be in a state of emergency by the Governor of Michigan, before President Obama declared the crisis as a federal state of emergency, authorizing additional help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security less than two weeks later.

The World Health Organization says “lead affects children’s brain development resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioral changes such as shortening of attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment. Lead exposure also causes anemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioral effects of lead are believed to be irreversible.”

For more information on this water crisis & lead poisoining  visit the following websites: