Last month we got you up to speed with the Flint Michigan Water Crisis to show you how events like this can take place, which you can read here. This month we’re looking at the progress made since the initial onset to look at how things have been developing…
Since our last article, it’s become clear that authorities knew about the polluted water supply crisis for a minimum of a year before events got out of hand. They were aware they were breaking the law on lead piping, claims a professor at Virginia Tech.
Susan Hedman, a regional director for the US Environmental Protection Agency resigned on the 1st February – she was responsible for the Chicago and Michigan areas. Michigan officials are still investigating whether the drinking water crisis had any impact on the increase of Legionnaires’ disease in the area.
Uncovered emails show that the officials knew that the increase in Legionnaires could possibly be related to the Flint River in March 2015.
By the start of February it was estimated that Michigan state was preparing to spend somewhere in the region of $28 million more on rectifying the Flint water crisis.
The money’s expected to be spent on bottled water and filters, as well as helping to monitor young children for any developmental delays that could occur.
It’s now been uncovered that Flint’s water bills are among some of the highest in the country, even as the city failed to treat the drinking water to an acceptable standard for consumption.
Head of research, Dr Marc Edwards stated: ‘We have to determine if and when the water is safe again and longer-term in Flint, we have to figure out a way to get these pipes replaced. There really is no precedent for this type of man-made disaster.’
Water companies are responsible for monitoring and treating water, and sometimes errors occur which cause huge problems like the ones seen in the Flint Michigan Water Crisis. Take a look at our first article explaining how this occurred, here.
Water instruments play a big part in ensuring water quality is meeting the correct standards. Early stage water testing can be helped with products like Partech’s uMac SMART meter. Meanwhile, drinking water plants use instruments like the ColTec or TurbiTech LR that help to give early indications to problems like this. One of the other main reasons for issues is the lack of investment in water utilities. Got an opinion? Head on over to our Facebook or Twitter pages and tell us what you think to the developments in the Flint Michigan Water Crisis.