Contamination of water supply
Historically, the water in the Flint River downstream of Flint has been of poor quality, and was severely degraded during the 1970s, due to "the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances." In 2001, the state ordered the monitoring and cleanup of 134 polluted sites within the Flint River watershed, including industrial complexes, landfills and farms laden with pesticides and fertilizer.
According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department of Environmental Quality was not treating the Flint River water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. The river water was found to be 19 times more corrosive than water from Detroit, which was from Lake Huron, according to a study by Virginia Tech.
Historically, the water in the Flint River downstream of Flint has been of poor quality, and was severely degraded during the 1970s, due to "the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances." In 2001, the state ordered the monitoring and cleanup of 134 polluted sites within the Flint River watershed, including industrial complexes, landfills and farms laden with pesticides and fertilizer.
According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department of Environmental Quality was not treating the Flint River water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. The river water was found to be 19 times more corrosive than water from Detroit, which was from Lake Huron, according to a study by Virginia Tech.
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No matter where you live, it seems that the people are the last to know about the health hazards they are exposed to.
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What does this mean for Detroit?
"Tests done by The Flint Water study uncover the truth the has been kept from the public:
Experiment: "When we visited Flint, we took pieces of copper pipe joined with lead solder (old solder is 50% lead by weight) inside them. Lead solder is probably present in the plumbing of many Detroit/Flint homes built before 1986 when it was banned from use in drinking water systems. We put the lead solder-copper pipe test pieces in 250 mL containers, and filled them with the following three waters":
Experiment: "When we visited Flint, we took pieces of copper pipe joined with lead solder (old solder is 50% lead by weight) inside them. Lead solder is probably present in the plumbing of many Detroit/Flint homes built before 1986 when it was banned from use in drinking water systems. We put the lead solder-copper pipe test pieces in 250 mL containers, and filled them with the following three waters":
Data from Week 3 comparing lead corrosion in Detroit water (left), current Flint water (middle), and Flint water with orthophosphate (right).
Fortunately for Detroit contamination levels are within the required standards, but since plumbing in Detroit is also made from lead solder and built before 1986, it shows that is only a matter of time when the plumbing will fail in Detroit as well.
Fortunately for Detroit contamination levels are within the required standards, but since plumbing in Detroit is also made from lead solder and built before 1986, it shows that is only a matter of time when the plumbing will fail in Detroit as well.