Flint, MI

city famous for its water crisis. Flint is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. The population was 81,252 at the 2020 census,[5] and was estimated to be 79,735 in 2024.[6] making it the largest city in Genesee County and the 12th-most populous city in Michigan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint,_Michigan

The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis from 2014 to 2019 which involved the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan, being contaminated with lead and possibly Legionella bacteria.[2] In April 2014, during a financial crisis, state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley changed Flint's water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River) to the Flint River.[7] Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water, which resulted in lead from aging pipes leaching into the water supply, exposing around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels.[8] A pair of scientific studies confirmed that lead contamination was present in the water supply.[9][10] The city switched back to the Detroit water system on October 16, 2015... On January 5, 2016, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency in Genesee County, of which Flint is the major population center. Shortly thereafter, President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency, authorizing additional help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security... Four government officials—one from the city of Flint, two from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and one from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—resigned over the mishandling of the crisis, and one additional MDEQ staff member was fired. In January 2021, former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and eight other officials were charged with 34 felony counts and seven misdemeanors—41 counts in all—for their role in the crisis.[17] Two officials were charged with involuntary manslaughter.[18] Fifteen criminal cases have been filed against local and state officials,[19] but only one minor conviction has been obtained, and all other charges have been dismissed or dropped. On August 20, 2020, the victims of the water crisis were awarded a combined settlement of $600 million, with 80% going to the families of children affected by the crisis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis (Great, taxpayers paid the settlement, nobody responsible was punished.)

• cf clean water
• In October 2015, Earley said that he was not to blame for the decision, saying that the decision had been made before his term in office and that "It did not fall to me to second-guess or to invalidate the actions that were taken prior to my appointment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darnell_Earley#Emergency_manager_roles