Michigan in 'State of Emergency' After Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water Disaster

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On Saturday, President Barack Obama granted the request of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to declare a state of emergency in Flint over lead-contaminated drinking water. This resulted to the local government receiving $5 million in federal aid as assistance to the public health crisis due to bad water in the city.

The issue over contamination of tap water in Flint, Michigan started in the year 2014 when it switched its water supplier from Lake Huron water treated by Sewerage Department and Detroit Water to Flint River water, which is far more polluted and corrosive. The move was supposed to be a cost-cutting move made by a Snyder-appointed emergency manager.

According to Reuters, in October 2015, the city switched back to using the Lake Huron water as their water supply. Nonetheless, it is a little too late as the big problem already started to arise as the water lead has already found its way to the old pipes in homes, schools and other establishments. As a result, the city water becomes contaminated and the health of more or less 100,000 people from Flint is at great risk.

Despite getting an approval from the President for his state of emergency declaration request, the state governor of Michigan still got criticized for waiting or a year and a half before finally making a move to address the issue, the New York Times reported.

Governor Rick Snyder apologized for the poor performance of the state in addressing the lead-contamination water issue. The head environmental head of Michigan already resigned and federal agencies already started their investigation.

Snyder originally asked President Obama for emergency and disaster declaration. A disaster declaration could have given the state of Michigan more funds for their water contamination problem. However, President Obama denied the request for disaster declaration as it is not allowed to call for an expedited major disease for this issue under the federal law.

According to Detroit Free Press, the federal law states that disaster declaration should only be made when natural disasters, such as flood, storms and hurricanes, occur. On the other hand, the issue over the lead contamination of Flint's tap water is not counted as a natural disaster as it is a man-caused problem.

The issue over Flint's water contamination is making headlines across the United States and all over the world. This matter is seen not just as an environmental problem, but as a health problem as well.