By Naderah Brooks

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan is a major topic on the news radar. This is an

issue that city dwellers need to take heed to.

According to CNN the city was receiving its water supply from Lake Huron, which is

located in Detroit. City officials made the call to switch over to the Flint River for

their main water supply.

Residents of Flint began to complain about the strange colored water. The corrosive

water caused property damage and contained lead that caused health issues. There

was documentation in a local hospital that reported that there are high levels of lead

that was discovered in the children’s’ blood due to the water switch.

American citizens should wonder, “Did the city officials consider the long term effect

of lead poisoning in the children”? Money should not have been the main focus of

the city officials. The focus of the city officials is the overall well-being of the future

city development. City officials are supposed to act as a liaison between the

government and citizens. It is evident that communicating with the residents was

not top priority.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Approximately half of

a million children in the US ages 1-5 have high lead levels in their blood…Lead

exposure can affect nearly every system in the body.”

This is public information that is available to anyone with Internet access. There is

no way that the city officials were not privy to this information. The water crisis in

Flint is a crisis that should make the public cautious.

If this incident could occur in Flint, it is likely to occur in other low-income areas in

America.