Ignored Water Complaints Led to Flint’s Most Challenging Problem

Flint Michigan's authority ignorored health warnings and residents' complaints about their water's foul odor for months. Now, they are battling with lead contaminated water from the Flint River.

Flint was a former manufacturing hub that caused lead contamination to Flint River. The water from the river corroded the pipes, and now, the Flint's tap water has been contaminated with lead for more than a year, as reported by Raw Story.

It will take years before these corroded pipes get replaced that will make Flint's tap water safe for human consumption. The authorities, together with the National Guard soldiers and volunteers are now distributing huge quantities of bottled water.

180, 000 water filters have been given away, however, most residents do not trust the filter from the authorities who had falsely assured them that the water is safe to drink until citizen activists wronged them. Lead poisoning has been diagnosed to many Flint residents and more than 8,000 children were allegedly exposed to lead. They feared that it may harm the children's brain development.

Aaron Stinson, a Flint resident is trying to stay healthy. He exercises regularly and drinks lots of water. He is now one of many Flint residents who got a positive result after a test for lead exposure.

The normal lead in blood for adults is 10 micrograms per deciliter. Stinson has twice as much as the normal level, he is 27 years old.

A news form CNN said that there is no medicine to treat lead poisoning. However, Stinson's doctor advised him to consume protein, drink orange juice and do not consume tap water.

"I'm angry, I'm upset," Stinson said. "I could end up dying with this toxin put in my body, it could hurt my organs, it could take my memory. It is a scary thing."

The corrosion of the water pipes started in April 2014 when the state-appointed manager decided to stop buying water from Detroit and began drawing water from Flint River, as part of cost-cutting, according to an article from ABC posted in January 2016.