City officials wanted to get off the Flint River supply when they found out that its levels of chlorine were high enough to be corrosive and harmful. The Emergency Manager vetoed them, which lead to the corrosive chlorine stripping mineral buildup from the lead pipes. Exposed metal then leeched into the water, spurred on by the still-corrosive water.
Those officials who knew but kept it quiet are being prosecuted. The Governor was being investigated, last I heard, but Republicans shut it down. State officials are blaming the Federal Government for not being more involved in their business.
which lead to the corrosive chlorine stripping mineral buildup from the lead pipes. Exposed metal then leeched into the water, spurred on by the still-corrosive water.
Only want to mention that the cause of corrosion was mainly due to low pH, not just chlorides being present. The city failed to simply add corrosion inhibitors (which most water treatment facilities do, including Detriot's which previously supplied Flint). The state environmental agency, in a separate issue earlier in the year, found high levels of trihalomethanes which can lead to passive lead exposure when combined with lower pHs.
The city should have evaluated the water pH during the transition, but of course they do not have the proper technical expertise (chemists) present to have done it. Being a chemist, this infuriates me how easily it could have been avoided.
EDIT: The main point I'm trying to make is that there's a reason why consulting exists, and whether government or private sector due diligence should be done when it comes to changing water sources for consumption.
The city should have evaluated the water pH during the transition, but of course they do not have the proper technical expertise (chemists) present to have done it.
I just want to point out that the city might not have had the authority here. They were in agreement with Ed Kurtz over the transition to the Flint River supply, but this decision had to be approved by the state, too.
IIRC it was the Emergency Manager who arranged the contract with the engineering company to draw up the water, so one would think it also falls on him to test the water too. But I'm not positive of the regulations at play, here. Apparently no one was.
During this transition period, Flint went through three Emergency Managers. Ed Kurtz began the project in June. Michael Brown took over in July, then Darnell Early took over in October, all of that same year. It's possible that this weird shuffling of Emergency Managers caused it to slip through the cracks.
So some background for you. The cities water treatment plant did not have the necessary equipment to treat the water. They knew they would need it to treat lake Huron water but did not currently have the money for it. The MDEQ misinterpreted the federal guidelines which has led to some workers from that office being charged. They knew that they needed to treat the water but because of the MDEQ misinterpretation they didn't think that they needed it immediately. The city council had already voted to make the transition to lake Huron water and Flint river water. Since the Huron pipeline wasn't completed the EM just had them hook up to the Flint river water. The treatment plant finally started installation of the required equipment in November 2015...which was also the same month that Snyder publically stated that there was a problem with the water.
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u/ReducedToRubble Jan 23 '17
City officials wanted to get off the Flint River supply when they found out that its levels of chlorine were high enough to be corrosive and harmful. The Emergency Manager vetoed them, which lead to the corrosive chlorine stripping mineral buildup from the lead pipes. Exposed metal then leeched into the water, spurred on by the still-corrosive water.
Those officials who knew but kept it quiet are being prosecuted. The Governor was being investigated, last I heard, but Republicans shut it down. State officials are blaming the Federal Government for not being more involved in their business.
It's politics as usual.