But the original problem is that Flint’s river water is much more difficult to treat than water from Lake Huron, the city’s water source from 1974 to 2014. There is also the political question of officials’ responsibility for the crisis and their failure to respond after problems with the water became clear. The way Flint mishandled water treatment is the primary cause of the water crisis. The way flint mishandled water treatment is the primary cause of the water crisis This is why aid organizations are still distributing bottled water and water filters, even though the city has stopped using water from the Flint River. Once pipes are corroded, even clean, properly treated water continues to carry lead and other contaminants through the tap. Lead poisoning is the most widespread and serious health problem associated with Flint’s drinking water children with prolonged exposure to lead experience a range of developmental problems that are incurable. The acidic water corroded the old lead pipes along with other heavy metals, lead seeped into the drinking supply where it caused widespread lead poisoning. A Flint-area outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease also coincided with the switch, causing at least 10 deaths. Immediately after switching to the Flint River, Flint’s drinking water spiked in bacteria and trihalomethane readings. Finally, stagnation anywhere along the line raises the likelihood of bacteria and makes the water less safe to drink. Federal law mandates adding anti-corrosive agents to drinking water in large cities this standard water treatment practice was not followed. Chlorine reacts with organic material in the water to produce carcinogenic byproducts such as trihalomethanes it also makes water more acidic, which corrodes pipes.
Because Flint’s river water had high levels of bacteria, it was treated with additional chlorine. For all drinking water, the first concern is bacteria, which can cause diseases like hepatitis, Legionnaire’s disease, and other illnesses. Most of the contaminants now in Flint’s drinking water were introduced during or after processing. The more polluted a water source is, the more processing required to make the water safe to drink. This short history of pollution of the Flint River is gathered from multiple interviews and news sources, including over 400 historical documents from The Flint Journal, the City of Flint, the Flint Public Library, Flint’s Sloan Museum, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of the Interior, and various Michigan state agencies. None of these factors are unique to Flint they’re at work in underfunded towns across the United States, the legacy of multiple industries from automobiles and chemicals to coal and agriculture. "It’s also the product of a variety of much larger structural problems that are much more difficult to address." Besides economic factors, this includes a long history of environmental disasters and political dysfunction, much of it centered around the Flint River.
"It would be a mistake to conclude that Flint’s predicament is simply the result of government mismanagement," says Andrew Highsmith, author of Demolition Means Progress: Flint, Michigan, And The Fate Of The American Metropolis. "it would be a mistake to conclude that flint's predicament is simply the result of government mismanagement."
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