Michigan has been on the news lately because of the lead-contaminated water that has been jeopardizing the health of residents.

The city originally received its water supply from the Detroit system to the Flint river back on April 25, 2014 to save money. But soon after, complaints were made about the water’s taste and odor (The New York Times). On February 18, 2015, large amounts of lead were detected in homes (The New York Times). Lead is dangerous to human consumption as it can lead to developmental delays and learning disabilities (abc news). Miguel Del Toral, an E.P.A expert, provided some insight: “Given the very high lead levels found at one home and preflushing happening in Flint, I’m worried that the whole town may have much higher lead levels than the compliance results indicated.” On October 1, 2015, Flint city officials advised the residents to stop drinking the water (The New York Times). On December 29, 2015, Mr. Wyant, the director of the state environment agency, resigned after his staff used inappropriate federal protocol for corrosion control (The New York Times).

Flint, Michigan is on the road to recovery by replacing new pipes to ensure the cleanliness of the water. However, the severity of the water crisis definitely could have been prevented. The government made many mistakes reflecting on us as a nation. How do you think other nations will react when they see that a city in the United States does not have clean drinking water? The Flint water situation reflects poorly on the U.S. The EPA and Rick Snyder have been accused and criticized for not making the efforts to make Flint’s water safe again to drink. Flint residents trusted this individual to ensure the health and safety of the water. Can this trust be earned back? It’s baffling how Rick Snyder knew of the water’s problem and decided to do nothing. His lack of action negatively affected the children of Flint. It’s astonishing how it took almost a year for changes to be made. This is a human rights violation. Not following proper protocol is another mistake of the government that could have been prevented. Flint residents’ outrage is justified because the poor water conditions could have been prevented, but imprudent decisions worsened the situation.

If we can’t trust the government to ensure our safety and health, who can we trust?