The Flint Water Crisis: A Guide to Information Resources

Duration 27:10 minutes

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.

Representative Dan Kildee (D-MI) was the first witness. A resident of Flint who first called the EPA to her home early in 2015 to test the water that had become discolored also appeared. Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said his committee had issued subpoenas to three officials who refused to appear before his panel. including former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley.

Susan Hedman, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional director, told committee members the lead contamination should have never happened, and that the EPA had nothing to do with the corrosive water. Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) argued that the EPA had the opportunity to make the appropriate response but did not. Flint’s former mayor and the city’s former emergency manager testified that they were not aware of lead in the water until January 2015. Ms. Hedman confirmed that corrosion control systems to reduce the lead were not put in place until December 9, 2015.

Governor Snyder apologized and said he was not aware that the water had dangerous levels of lead until October 2015. Ms. McCarthy defended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), saying her agency did all it could do within the rule of law. During the hearing, several committee members called on both Governor Snyder and Ms. McCarthy to resign.

First published on Wednesday, April 6, 2016.

Hanna-Attisha, M., LaChance, J., Casey Sadler, R., & Champney Schnepp, A. (2016). Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children Associated With the Flint Drinking Water Crisis: A Spatial Analysis of Risk and Public Health Response. American Journal Of Public Health, 106(2), 283-290. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003

Abernethy, J., Anderson, C., Dai, C., Farahi, A., Nguyen, L., Rauh, A., . . . Yang, S. (2016, September 30). Flint water crisis: Data-driven risk assessment via residential water testing. In Data For Good Exchange 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016, from https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.00580 doi:arXiv:1610.00580

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.

Includes:
• Campus resources: Find safe drinking water on campus
• Water Updates & Testing Results: Information of campus water quality from Environment, Health, and Safety at UM-Flint

The course from our Department of Public Health and Health Sciences is also being offered as a 1-credit course to students. This opportunity for bi-directional learning will feature leaders and experts in the Flint water crisis.