FLINT WATER CRISIS: TAP WATER STILL NOT SAFE

It was last fall when Flint Hurley Hospital Dr. Mona Attisha exposed the horrific state of Flint city tap water that was poisoning residents in my home town of Flint since 2014. Dr. Mona is truly a hero for the city. However, the awful truth is that the drinking water in Flint is still not safe to drink. People who do not live in Flint and don't have family in Flint need to know that the water is not safe to drink and not much has been done to solve the problem. I would say that I am shocked that the water crisis in Flint has not been resolved but nothing shocks anymore these days.

Mark Durno, who is the deputy chief of the EPA emergency response said recently that it is likely that the city will remain on filters through the rest of the year. This according to The Detroit Free Press addressing a recent interview with Durno. After all this time Flint residents have been told they still must use filters on faucets. Well, let me tell you I know first hand how ineffective those filters can be for many people. Many residents, particularly the elderly and disabled, struggle to properly install the water filters. Further, filters need to be changed every so often, and many people don't have the ability to change the filters. Not to mention the fact that many people in Flint understandably don't trust drinking the water even with a filter. I don't blame them. If I still lived in Flint I would not trust little filters to screen the massively high amounts of lead and toxins pouring from the faucet.

And what about all of those congressional hearings that happened many months ago? A lot congress people mouthed off about the atrocity of the the Flint Water Crisis but in the end sadly, Snyder is still in office and the water crisis in Flint has not been resolved.

Jeff Brown
PWP.

Downtown Flint. 2016. Photo Purple Walrus Press.