LibGuides: The Flint Water Crisis: A Guide to Information Resources: Background Reading

Online Information

This is a guide to information sources about the Flint water crisis. Resources will be added as needed. Please be sure to visit the University of Michigan-Flint Campus Water Information page.

Flint Water Advisory Task Force: Final Report
Findings and recommendations regarding the Flint water crisis.
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The State of Michigan's Flint Water Advisory Task Force's final report to Gov. Snyder on their findings and recommendations regarding the Flint Water Crisis. Published March 21, 2016.
MLive.com: Flint Water Crisis
Background pieces as well as ongoing events.
MyWater-Flint
"A joint project between University of Michigan-Flint and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan Data Science Team with support from Google.org," that provides location data on lead test results, bottled water pickup and recycling, water filter pickup, and service line replacement.
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"Water test data courtesy of the State of Michigan and property abandonment data courtesy of the United States Postal Service (both via UM-Ann Arbor MDST). Predicted risk results (developed using computer modeling) courtesy of UM-Ann Arbor MDST. Resource site information courtesy of Flint Cares."

Flint Journal, 1898-present This link opens in a new window
Content of The Flint Journal, including articles, illustrations, advertisements, and other content. Includes images (1898-1995; 2018 to present), and text (1995 to present).
The Flint Journal is also available on microfilm on the 1st floor of the Thompson Library, covering 1898 - 2018. These years of coverage are included in the online version, but if you need full page or article images for the years 1996 - 2017, you can scan them on the microfilm reader. If you only need the text of an article from the years 1996 - 2017, it is available in the online version.

Flint's Water: Books in the Thompson Library

Report on water resource conditions and uses in the Flint River Basin by Water Resources Commission of Michigan
Call Number: Archives GB 705.M5 A53
Publication Date: 1956
"This report discusses the existing water supply sources and their problems and should serve to indicate in a general way the adequacy of water resources in the basin for various types of future development."--[from the Introduction]
The water supply of Flint, Michigan
Call Number: Archives TD 225.F5 W3 (Building use only)
Publication Date: 1955
Prospectus relating to public offering of $1,700,000 water supply system revenue bonds, series 1, city of Flint, Michigan
Call Number: Archives HD 4464.F59 P7 (Building use only)
Publication Date: 1948
Water resources of the Flint area, Michigan by S.W. Wiitala, K.E. Vanlier and R.A. Krieger
Call Number: Archives QE 75 .W18 no.1499-E (Building use only)
Publication Date: 1963
"A guide for initial location or expansion of industrial and municipal facilities and an aid to defense planning and the location of emergency water supplies."
Should Genesee county continue to rely solely on a single 72" diameter water main to supply its water system or should it pursue an alternative in order to insure a safe reliable supply by Terry E. Biederman
Call Number: Archives Biederman Terry E. (Building use only)
Publication Date: 1992
Thesis (Master of Public Administration)
What the Eyes Don't See by Mona Hanna-Attisha
Call Number: RA 1231.L4 H34 2018
Publication Date: 2018
The inspiring story of how Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, alongside a team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders, discovered that the children of Flint, Michigan, were being exposed to lead in their tap water--and then battled her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world.
The Poisoned City by Anna Clark
Call Number: Browsing Collection: RA 591 .C53 2018
Publication Date: 2018
In the first full account of this American tragedy, Anna Clark's The Poisoned City recounts the gripping story of Flint's poisoned water through the people who caused it, suffered from it, and exposed it. It is a chronicle of one town, but could also be about any American city, all made precarious by the neglect of infrastructure and the erosion of democratic decision making. Places like Flint are set up to fail--and for the people who live and work in them, the consequences can be fatal.

Facts on Lead Toxicity, Legionella, & Shigella

Lead and Copper Rule (EPA)
EPA's webpage on the Lead and Copper Rule, which is regulates the amount of lead and copper allowed in drinking water.
Advice to Flint Residents | EPA
Tips from the EPA about to use and not use tap water in Flint, MI. Includes information about water filters and identifying lead service lines.
Lead | Center for Disease Control
Includes information about prevention and government policies regarding lead.
Lead Poisoning | Merck Manual Consumer Edition
Fact page outlining the causes and effects of lead poisoning. Intended audience is the general public.
Fight Lead Exposure | MSU Extension
Putting any rivalries aside, MSU Extension has "many resources and programs that help you understand the issue of lead exposure, lead poisoning and programs that can help you and your family combat the effects of lead."
Fight Lead Poisoning with a Healthy Diet | EPA
EPA's tips on mitigating lead poisoning with diet choices.
Legionella | Center of Disease Control
Information about the Legionnaires' Disease.
Legionella Infections | Merck Manual Consumer Edition
Fact page outlining the causes and effects of legionella infections (Legionnaires' disease). Intended audience is the general public.
Shigella | Center for Disease Control
Information about Shigellosis.
Shigellosis | MedlinePlus Encyclopedia
Information on Shigellosis from the National Library of Medicine.