massachusetts water quality town age of water infastructure

Ap– The city approves the Karegnondi Water Authority contract.Ma– County officials announce plans for a new pipeline to reduce the costs of delivering water from Lake Huron to Flint.He is the first of four such managers who will effectively take the place of the mayor until 2015, when a Receivership Transition Advisory Board will be appointed. Novem– Three weeks after the city declared a state of financial emergency, Governor Snyder appoints Michael Brown as the city's Emergency Manager, effective December 1.The city operates under a plan to use the Flint River as an emergency water source. 1967–2013 – The city of Flint receives its water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, sourced from Lake Huron.The following is a sequence of events related to the Flint water crisis. He left office on December 31, 2018, due to term limits but was charged with willful neglect of duty in January 2021.

Governor Rick Snyder and his administration were widely blamed for the decisions that led to the crisis, with numerous people calling for his resignation. Politico declared that its water is 'just as good as any city's in Michigan.' However, a legacy of distrust remains, so residents often refuse to drink the tap water. After $400 million in state and federal spending, Flint has secured a clean water source, distributed filters to all who want them, and laid modern, safe, copper pipes to nearly every home in the city. As of July 16, 2021, 27,133 water service lines had been excavated and inspected, resulting in the replacement of 10,059 lead pipes. As of December 8, 2020, fewer than 500 service lines still needed to be inspected. There were an estimated 2,500 lead service pipes still in place as of April 2019. In early 2017, some officials asserted that the water quality had returned to acceptable levels, but in January 2019, residents and officials expressed doubt about the cleanliness of the water. Īn extensive lead service pipe replacement effort has been underway since 2016. By November, the settlement grew to $641 million. On August 20, 2020, the victims of the water crisis were awarded a combined settlement of $600 million, with 80% going to the families of children affected by the crisis. Fifteen criminal cases have been filed against local and state officials, but only one minor conviction has been obtained, and all other charges have been dismissed or dropped. Two officials were charged with involuntary manslaughter. In January 2021, former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and eight other officials were charged with 34 felony counts and seven misdemeanors-41 counts in all-for their role in the crisis. įour government officials-one from the city of Flint, two from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and one from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-resigned over the mishandling of the crisis, and one additional MDEQ staff member was fired. The water supply change was considered a possible cause of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the county that killed 12 people and affected another 87, but the original source of the bacteria was never found.

Children are particularly at risk from the long-term effects of lead poisoning, which can include a reduction in intellectual functioning and IQ, and an increased chance of Alzheimer's disease. īetween 6,000 and 12,000 children were exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead. Shortly thereafter, President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency, authorizing additional help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. On January 5, 2016, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency in Genesee County, of which Flint is the major population center. It later signed a 30-year contract with the new Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) on November 22, 2017. The city switched back to the Detroit water system on October 16, 2015. A pair of scientific studies confirmed that lead contamination was present in the water supply. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water, which resulted in lead from aging pipes leaching into the water supply, exposing around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels. Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water. In April 2014, during a financial crisis, state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley changed Flint's water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River) to the Flint River. The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis that started in 2014 after the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan was contaminated with lead and possibly Legionella bacteria.

6,000–12,000 children exposed to lead Ĭorinne Miller – a year of probation, 300 hours of community service, and fine of $1,200.

Massachusetts water quality town age of water infastructure