‘Little Has Changed’ Since State Of Emergency Declared In Flint Water Crisis (VIDEO)

It’s been one year since Karen Weaver, the mayor of Flint, Michigan declared a state of emergency due to the city’s lead-contaminated drinking water. But despite the sympathy, outrage, and donations, residents affected by the Flint water crisis still cannot drink their own tap water without filters.

The water was contaminated when the city’s emergency manager, Darnell Earley – an unelected official appointed by Republican Governor Rick Snyder – switched the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the badly polluted Flint River. The river water caused the city’s lead pipes to corrode, leaching lead into the water supply that Flint residents used to wash and drink.

The Trouble With Flint

Flint’s water crisis is only the latest symptom that the city is dying. After General Motors began shuttering its factories in the 1980s, Flint began hollowing out. Schools crumbled and the crime rate skyrocketed.

The average per capita income in Flint today is just under $15,000 per year. An estimated 41 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Those who could afford to leave – mostly middle-class whites – were long gone when the city’s $25 million deficit attracted the attention of the State in 2011. Governor Snyder appointed an emergency manager to reorganize the cash-strapped city’s government.

The Nightmare Begins

Part of the emergency manager’s plan was to save money by switching the city’s water source to the Flint River. Environmental assessments of the Flint River during the 1970s documented:

“…The presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances.”

To save even more money, the manager decided to forego an additive seal to prevent the water system’s lead pipes from leaching into the water they transport. Complaints of water quality began within two weeks of the switch.

In February 2015, officials found that the water contained dangerous levels of lead, but took no action to warn the public or correct the city’s course. So it should have been no surprise that Flint citizens began experiencing negative health impacts.

One Flint resident, Keri Webber, described her ordeal to the Detroit Free Press in October:

“Webber said her husband, her two daughters and her pets have all suffered health effects as a result of the contaminated water. Her 16-year-old daughter was found to have lead lines in her bones in 2015, her 21-year-old daughter contracted Legionnaires’ disease that same year and her husband has lost vision in one eye because of high blood pressure she said has been linked to the lead in the water.”

In June, the EPA announced that faucets in some homes could be fitted with filters and used safely. But in other homes where lead levels exceeded the danger limit, residents had to continue obtaining bottled water.

Hot Topic

The situation attracted national attention. In May, President Obama visited Flint to demonstrate the safety of filtered water by taking the smallest sip ever from his cup.

During the Democratic primaries, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders held a debate in Flint. Both candidates expressed concern over Flint’s plight.

A Dubious Future

But the attention of media and politicians has waned. According to a new NPR report:

“…Donations have slowed to a trickle, and little has changed.”

While Congress approved $170 million in aid last week, city officials say they’ll need millions more to replace all the lead pipes in Flint. Check out the video below to learn more about the situation:

Featured image via CBS News video.