How a water crisis changed Flint, MI forever

 

How a water crisis affected a once booming Michigan town

What would you do if you began to experience skin rashes and the taste of foul-smelling water

and having nothing done about it? Residents of a small Michigan town were dealt those cards

In April of 2014, residents of Flint, Michigan noticed a foul smell coming from their water, along with discoloration. Skin rashes and hair loss were among the effects of drinking this water. Despite residents complaining of poor water quality and clear health problems, officials were ignoring these complaints. 

The town of Flint would find that the poor water quality and noticeable health concerns was caused by highly corrosive water. Flint had switched the water supply from Detroit’s city water system to the Flint river system. The switch was triggered by cost-saving efforts while a new water pipeline would be built in Lake Huron. 

With the help of journalists and doctors, the Flint community garnered the attention of media outlets on the mismanagement of the water quality. The attention forced a frenzy all over with how officials were managing the lead being piped into the homes of residents. The water had been pumped into homes for roughly 18 months at the time.  

Per the Michigan Civil Rights Commission as told to NRDC.org: “it’s a result of systemic racism.”

A majority of the 200,000 residents, a majority of them were black, which is where the residents were faced with systemic racism by city officials. The journalists, doctors and community members who stepped up to bring attention to this matter knew this needed to be a public matter. 

 

Before garnering mass public attention, the city of Flint had dealt with water problems. For over a century, the Flint river had been used as a disposal site for untreated waste from factories, manufacturing plants and lumber mills. Along with that, the river took on raw sewage from the city’s waste treatment plant. 

Flint is home of automobile giant General Motors. During the mid 20th century, Flint was in its prime. There were 200,000 people who called Flint home. General Motors hired the majority of residents that made up the city. 

The 1980s would be the start of a decline that saw Flint residents disappear. Thanks to rising oil prices, auto imports and plant worker lay-offs, close to one-in-six homes would be abandoned as families left. The city would see the number of residents drop to 100,000. 

According to an article from MichiganPublic.org in June of 2025, the city has replaced all of the lead pipes for residents. The city had faced years of delays and legality battles getting to this point. 

Around 2015, the city had placed an emergency order that required treating the pipes to rid the corrosion. In 2025, officials were able to lift this emergency order because of the new pipes. “The pipe replacement program is finally nearly done,” said attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Addie Rolnick. 

In an article from bridgemi.com, the amount of replaced pipes was 11,000. 28,000 additional pipes were inspected and were confirmed as safe.