In April 2014 a state-appointed emergency manager switched Flint, Michigan to river water without corrosion control to save about five million dollars. The pipes' protective coating dissolved and lead reached roughly 100,000 residents. Residents, an engineer, and a pediatrician broke through months of official dismissal; a Legionnaires' outbreak killed at least twelve, and a $626 million settlement followed.
Who's who
- LeeAnne WaltersFlint mother whose insistence on testing exposed extreme lead levels
- Mona Hanna-AttishaPediatrician whose blood-lead data broke the state's denial
- Marc EdwardsVirginia Tech engineer whose citywide sampling proved the water corrosive
- Miguel Del ToralEPA regional manager whose 2015 memo diagnosed missing corrosion control
- Rick SnyderMichigan governor who declared a state of emergency in January 2016
- Darnell EarleyState-appointed emergency manager of Flint at the time of the switch
- Judith LevyFederal judge who approved the $626 million settlement
Where it happens
- Flint, Michigan+3 more episodesCity switched to Flint River water in April 2014
- Genesee County, MichiganSite of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak
- Hurley Medical Center, Flint, MichiganWhere Hanna-Attisha analyzed children's blood-lead records
Timeline
- April 25, 2014Flint begins distributing Flint River water without corrosion control.
- February 2015LeeAnne Walters' tap tests at 104 parts per billion lead.
- June 24, 2015Miguel Del Toral's memo warns EPA management of missing corrosion control.
- September 24, 2015Hanna-Attisha announces rising blood-lead levels in Flint children.
- January 2016Governor Snyder declares a state of emergency.
- November 2021A federal judge approves the $626 million civil settlement.
Still debated
The Legionnaires' toll is officially 12 deaths, but investigators suggest an undercount. Lasting harm to children is uncertain, no criminal case produced a conviction, and no adjudicated findings of individual culpability exist.