Flint water crisis

A rule finalized Tuesday gives water providers across the country 10 years to get lead pipes out of their drinking water systems.

Earlier this year, Flint residents reached a $25 million settlement with an engineering firm involved in the city’s water crisis. The co-lead class counsel for the settlement is hosting town halls to assist residents with their claims after many of them have been told they are missing paperwork.

Tough talk followed a public outcry six years ago, but the push for policy reforms and monetary compensation has petered out.

The state has asked a federal judge for permission to finish repairing about 1,900 properties left damaged after crews replaced lead pipes. Flint was supposed to finish the work in 2020, but is years behind schedule with funds running low.

The latest Lunch Break event featured expert panelists discussing the effects of living through the Flint water crisis on the city’s children.

On May 29, enterprise reporter Ron French will discuss the far-reaching impacts of the Flint Water Crisis on children with three expert panelists.

At the height of the water crisis, Flint children had lower lead levels than many others in Michigan. But low expectations, trauma and constant anxiety did more harm than lead. ‘Instead of scaring families, we should be reassuring them.’

Ten years after the beginning of the Flint water crisis, the city’s youth are scarred as much by low expectations as by the lead-tainted water. ‘People had already decided who we were. They had ideas about IQ and behavior.’

In a major public-health success story, lead exposure in Michigan children has plummeted in recent decades, including in Flint.

Ten years later, a growing body of research suggests fears of permanent brain damage are a ‘myth.’ That’s good news for children, but some say trauma from the crisis is now worse than lead.

Michigan’s undemocratic emergency manager law set in motion the contamination of a majority-Black city. Ten years and $1 billion later, it’s unconscionable the law is still on the books.

The city was supposed to finish replacing all lead service lines in Flint by 2020. The work still isn’t done. The ruling includes no financial penalties.

Engineering company Veolia North America settles class-action lawsuit before a trial was set to begin on Feb. 13. The company consulted the city of Flint after its disastrous 2014 water switch.

The proposed EPA rule follows years of growing awareness of lead’s perils following the 2014 Flint water crisis. Michigan regulators support the rule, but say the state will need more money to meet the more aggressive timeline.

Eight years and millions of dollars later, investigations into the Flint water crisis will yield no trials for top Michigan officials. Legal experts say such cases are difficult, but Nessel’s office made several key errors.

A state prosecution team on Tuesday announced it’s given up on the effort to criminally charge public officials for the Flint water crisis. One unsurprised community leader called it “the norm” for a city repeatedly failed by the state.

New law mandates for filtered water bottle filling stations or faucets in all schools and daycare centers by 2026.

The Supreme Court ruling puts an end to charges brought in 2021 by Attorney General Dana Nessel against seven state officials for their role in the Flint water crisis.

All residents deserve safe, affordable water and the funding for water infrastructure. This requires more money, which might include state tax revenue, fees on groundwater removals for bottled water, variable utility rates and adding bottled water to the state deposit law.

Advocates say the city has blown through a court-ordered May 1 deadline to figure out which Flint residents are still dealing with potholed yards and sidewalks, after work crews excavated lead service lines and left a mess behind.