On Saturday, January 16, President Barack Obama declared a state of federal emergency in Flint, Michigan, where the water source has exposed lead poisoning and other contaminants to nearly all of the city residents.
Governor Rick Snyder asked President Obama to declare an emergency at the federal level in order to provide aid for temporary housing and home repairs as the city handles the damages caused by the water system.
Members of the Michigan National Guard are helping the state hand out filters and bottled water to all of the residents.
The water crisis started in 2014 when Flint switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, until new supply lines were ready, in order to cut costs in the midst of a financial emergency.
"We thought it was a joke," said Rhonda Kelso, a long-time Flint resident, told CNN. "People my age and older, thought "They're not going to do that.'"
Despite the Flint River being well known to locals for being filthy, government officials pushed forward with the switch. Investigations have been enacted to find possible crimes in allowing the "toxic" water distribution to continue for its duration.
High levels of lead in Flint's water supply were found by a research team from Virginia Tech in August of 2015. These levels of lead were high enough to be declared as "toxic waste" by the standards of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The pipes being used to supply the water were found to be old enough that when filled with corrosive water, which is water full of salt, the pipes would get eaten away. According to a General Motors engine plant, in 2014, the company refused to use the city's water supply because it was so corrosive that it would corrode their products.
Michigan Gov. Snyder declared a state of emergency over the issue three months after high lead levels were detected in Flint children. Governor Snyder has not specified when he became aware of the issue.
Some celebrities, such as Cher, and neighboring cities have donated water to the Flint crisis. Support for the residents continues to grow through the launch of a GoFundMe campaign to buy bottled water for residents with limited resources. The presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, had also discussed the crisis during Sunday night's Democratic presidential debate.
Flint's population consists of 56.6% African Americans and has a median household income of less than $25,000, while more than 41% of the population is below the poverty level, according to the 2010 U.S. census. Residents have been paying between $100 and $200 a month for the contaminated water that runs yellow and brown, and often smells like sewage water.
Although Governor Snyder has been taking actions toward helping the residents during the crisis, there have been many protesters who have requested that he resign for allowing the situation to reach this point. Governor Snyder reported to CNN that he does not want to run away from the problem, but solve it.
According to Michigan Radio, even with the provisions of up to $5 million dollars of bottled water from the federal government, along with filters and water testing kits for up to 90 days, the provisions will make only a small dent in Flint's long term needs.
