FLINT, Mich. – It took 11 years. 11 long years for the water to get to an acceptable level in Flint. The EPA is now celebrating the success that the water here is now safe -- 17 recent tests over many months reveal safe and acceptable copper and lead levels.
The water crisis that started in 2014 may seem over if you read the headlines, but it’s not.
No one is facing criminal charges.
No one has been made financially whole.
No one really believes the water is safe.
What you need to remember is that the public trust was ruined here. The people of Flint don’t believe elected leaders. Why should they? Remember, it was the elected leaders who repeatedly told everyone to drink up, the water is fine.
It was not fine.
People died.
People are still suffering today.
Children’s lives were forever changed.
I still remember my first visit to Flint at the beginning of the crisis. I had been to the Vehicle City many times before -- from visiting Autoworld as a child to working in this market (WNEM-TV) early in my career. However, the Flint I saw on that cold January day was unrecognizable. It looked like a third-world country. Lines a mile long- seniors and kids standing in the cold and snow, desperately hoping to get one free case of water. Life was forever changed. We had no idea just how bad it was here, but we learned quickly.
Since that day, so much has happened. And, yes, a lot of good has happened too. Hundreds of millions of dollars were pumped into Flint to help and things have dramatically improved. The one thing money will never repair, though, is trust. It’s broken here and much like the old dangerous pipes, the lack of trust is still creating problems that will last a lifetime.
